Yunasa was created by the Institute for Educational Advancement (IEA) with experts in gifted education to support the whole-child development of gifted youth.
Since its founding, Yunasa has become nationally recognized for its unique approach to nurturing gifted children intellectually, socially, emotionally, spiritually, and physically, earning the inaugural National Association for Gifted Children Global Awareness Network’s Annemarie Roeper Award for programs that respond to the concerns of gifted youth and the world they inhabit.
Yunasa was shaped by an extraordinary group of pioneering educators, psychologists, authors, and advocates in the field of gifted education whose vision helped establish the camp’s enduring philosophy of whole-child development. Founding and Senior Fellows included internationally respected experts such as:
Together, these leaders developed the workshops, reflective practices, and mentorship model that continue to define Yunasa today.
The IEA Staff team oversees the administrative, operational, and community-building aspects of Yunasa, ensuring that each camp session runs smoothly and that campers, counselors, and Fellows are fully supported throughout the week. Working both behind the scenes and alongside campers each day, the staff coordinates programming, activities, logistics, and family communication while helping create the welcoming, thoughtful, and nurturing environment that defines the Yunasa experience.
Nicole Fugette has been part of the IEA team since 2017 and brings a background in classroom, outdoor, and museum education.
She holds a B.S. in Biology from Azusa Pacific University and an M.A. in Science Writing from Johns Hopkins University. Nicole is passionate about helping gifted young people find belonging and balance while supporting their intellectual and personal growth.
Yunasa’s current Fellows and Facilitators are experienced professionals in gifted education, psychology, counseling, and child development who work directly with campers throughout the week. Through workshops, group discussions, mindfulness activities, and cross-generational mentorship, Fellows help campers better understand themselves, navigate the unique joys and challenges of giftedness, and build greater self-awareness, confidence, resilience, and connection with others.
She has been involved with the incredible Camp Shady Brook community, including Yunasa, since 2017. Suzanne now calls Denver home, and is currently working as the Volunteer Coordinator at a non-profit. She values curiosity and earnest enthusiasm, and can usually be found rock climbing, solving logic puzzles, or running around the playground with her 4-year-old neighbor.
Jamie MacDougall has been working with gifted kids for over 20 years with positions including classroom teacher, undergraduate educator at Purdue University, Indiana high ability field coach, NAGC middle grades chair, and Head of Middle School at Sycamore School.
She was the Indiana Association for the Gifted Teacher of the Year, as well as NAGC’s A. Harry Passow’s Teacher Scholar Award winner. From book clubs to hiking trips to plays, musicals, and dances, some of Jamie’s favorite educational moments include experiential learning. When not in the classroom, camp is Jamie’s second home. A long-time camp counselor, Jamie’s camp work has taken her to the Boundary Waters Canoe Area, the Smoky Mountains, the Florida Keys, Rocky Mountain National Park, Yosemite, and endless trails and waterways in between. Jamie has heard and seen first hand the palpable power of Yunasa through some of her all-time favorite students and has been counting down the days until camp.
Her work focuses on emotional intelligence, mind-body wellness, and helping gifted students develop healthy emotional and interpersonal skills.
Combining counseling, coaching, creativity, and humor, Gordon helps gifted individuals better understand themselves while fostering authenticity, connection, and personal growth.
Griffin Payne contains multitudes. Originally from the mountains of western North Carolina with a background in mental health and arts education, Griffin began laying down roots in Montreal, Quebec in 2016 after completing a Master’s degree in Human Systems Intervention at Concordia University.
Griffin now supports nonprofits and funders of community work as an independent consultant, researcher, and facilitator with expertise in learning, leadership, collaboration, evaluation, team development, and change management. Beyond making a living, Griffin enjoys living fully by writing, dancing, performing, organizing community events and producing multidisciplinary cabaret-style shows to raise funds for good causes.
“Yunasa is a place that is so diverse, anyone gifted can fit in here.”
–Yunasa Camper
“Our daughter…feels for the first time…there are other kids like her, who ‘get her.’ She was aware of how she needed to build her confidence and to believe who she is (as she is) an incredible gift.”
–Yunasa Parent
IEA Camp Yunasa received the inaugural Annemarie Roeper Global Awareness Award, for a program that “responds to the concerns of gifted and talented children about the future and the world they live in.”