Wendy Behrens is an author and the Gifted and Talented Education Specialist for the Minnesota Department of Education. She also serves as Project Director for Project North Star, a 2015 Jacob K. Javits Grant awarded to the Minnesota Department of Education. Behrens presents frequently on the nature and needs of gifted learners, instructional strategies, comprehensive service design, and policies that support highly able learners. She has been an invited speaker in the United States, Middle East, Far East, and Europe. She is President of the Council of State Directors of Programs for the Gifted and received the President’s award from the National Association for Gifted Children (NAGC) in 2013. She is an elected U.S. delegate to the World Council on Gifted, and a member of NAGC Policy Task Force and advisory councils for the Center for Talent Development and The Grayson School.