Ellie Schatz

Ellie Schatz is founder and president emerita of the Wisconsin Center for Academically Talented Youth (WCATY). She served as the first consultant for gifted programming with the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction, bringing extensive experience as a classroom teacher, resource teacher for the gifted, and gifted program coordinator to the state. She has presented to educators and parents at state and national conferences for more than 30 years, and has served as a consultant to the National Research Center on the Gifted and Talented.

Ellie received her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in Counseling and Guidance, with an emphasis on guidance of the gifted. She received her Masters degree from UW-Madison in Curriculum and Instruction, and her Bachelors degree from Buffalo State University College in Buffalo, N.Y. in elementary education.

Ellie is the author of numerous publications and self-published her first children's picture book, "Grandma Says It's Good to Be Smart" in 2009. Past publications include the article Mentors: Matchmaking for Young People, published in The Journal of Secondary Gifted Education. She co-authored the book, Teens With Talent: Developing the Potential of the Bright, Brighter and Brightest, co-presented and published the research paper, The Effects of Content, Cognitive Congruence, and Camaraderie on Talented Students' Attitudes, and co-presented the results of a Madison project supported by AFFW—Young Women of Promise: A Year-Long Program for At-Risk, Gifted Girls.

Committed to causes related to education as well as issues of girls and women, Ellie was a member and chair of the Madison Rotary Foundation scholarship committee for several years. She was a Madison Rotary Foundation trustee, and chairs a mentorship committee that matches Rotarians with at-risk college students. She served on the nominating committee of the Black Hawk Council of Girl Scouts, and is honored to co-chair the grant-making committee of AFFW as well as serve on its executive committee.

Ellie and her husband Paul are the parents of two grown sons and delight in two young grandsons. Ellie enjoys reading, writing, and knitting. She and Paul like to travel, and spend time each year snorkeling in the Caribbean.