Meet keynote speaker Vicki Gibson
Vicki L. Gibson, Ph.D., was the Founding Director for Charlotte Sharp Children’s Center (CSCC), located at Texas A&M University (TAMU) in College Station, Texas. CSCC is a state-licensed preschool/child lab that opened in 2020 and serves children ages 2- 6 years. CSCC collaborates with multiple departments at Texas A&M University providing onsite professional development and practicum opportunities for TAMU students, faculty, and children and families in the Bryan/College Station community.
Dr. Gibson is a professor of practice at the College of Education and Human Development (CEHD) and is assigned to the Department of Teaching, Learning, and Culture (TLAC). Before joining TAMU again as a faculty member and developing CSCC, Dr. Gibson was the CEO and Owner of Gibson Hasbrouck & Associates (GHA), an educational consulting group that works collaboratively with state and local agencies, publishing and providing professional development, instructional curricula, trainings, and consultation. Dr. Gibson is a nationally known speaker, author, and consultant for differentiating instruction and providing collaborative practice in preschool-high school environments. She authors and develops curricula for preschool-college classrooms with three publishers, McGraw Hill Education, Benchmark Education, and Voyager Learning.
Dr. Gibson received three degrees from Texas A&M University and taught as an Adjunct Professor and Lecturer at TAMU for 10 years. She supervised and directed a federally funded research project that coordinated programming between the College of Educational Psychology at TAMU and local school districts, innovatively providing opportunities for paraprofessionals working in public schools to complete a bachelor’s degree in education while continuing full-time employment. After graduation, the grant participants became classroom teachers in their respective school districts.
Dr. Gibson has 40+ years of experience in educational instruction, programming, and curriculum development. She began working as a kindergarten teacher and became a special education learning disability specialist for Bryan Independent School District, Bryan, Texas. After teaching public school for 10 years, Dr. Gibson owned and directed 3 private-for-profit preschools serving children ages 2-12 years.
Dr. Gibson also developed two preschool-elementary programs, Clay Academy for the Potter’s House in Dallas, Texas, that serves children at risk, and the Granite Preschool Project in Salt Lake City, Utah, that has received more than 14 million dollars in social impact funding for its success in closing achievement gaps in preschool children and reducing special education referrals from 30% to less than 1%, producing a huge cost savings for the school district.
The focus of Dr. Gibson’s work has always been focused on enhancing instructional effectiveness in all classrooms and improving student outcomes by developing strong foundational skills that enable self-regulation as a learner and successful academic achievement. Dr. Gibson’s work has provided strong evidence that high quality preschool experiences enable students to become successful learners and users of information despite challenges related to poverty, language differences, or learning challenges related to special needs.
Vashti Harrison is a celebrated writer, illustrator, and filmmaker. Winner of the 2024 Caldecott Medal for her picture book BIG, she is the first Black woman ever to receive this esteemed award in its 85-year history. A powerful and emotional tale of self-love and instant New York Times bestseller, BIG was also selected for Coretta Scott King Honors in both writing and illustration. Harrison is the creator of Little Leaders, Little Dreamers, and Little Legends, the #1 New York Times bestselling children’s collection of biographies about trailblazing women and exceptional men in black history. She has also been recognized with two NAACP Image Awards for Outstanding Literary Work for Children.
