ABC Ontario

Welcome to ABC Ontario! 

The Association for Bright Children of Ontario (Société pour enfants doués et surdoués de l'Ontario) is an all-volunteer, provincially incorporated registered charity, with many chapters across Ontario. It is dedicated to providing information, advocacy and support to parents of bright and gifted children and adolescents through networking, an annual conference and local workshops.  It offers the parents' voice to local school boards, educators, professional groups and the Ontario Ministry of Education.

The Board of Directors may be reached at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
 

Jim Rea

President and SEAC Co-ordinator 

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As the father of two gifted children, Jim is deeply aware of the challenges that bright youth face in the public school system in order to thrive emotionally, socially and academically.  Jim is co-chair of the Provincial Parents Associations Advisory Committee on SEAC (PAAC on SEAC). He is also a Parent Mentor and a Community Manager for Uniquely Bright Life (formerly Bright & Quirky), an organization that provides education and support for parents of twice exceptional youth.

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Jennifer Luong-Yau is a public sector lawyer and the mother of a gifted son. She is a member of the Toronto chapter of ABC Ontario and believes in ensuring that gifted children receive equitable access to special education. She first got involved with ABC while appealing her son’s Identification, Placement, and Review Committee (IPRC) decision. At ABC Ontario, Jenn has chaired the By-Laws Committee and serves on the Advocacy Committee. 

Connect with Jennifer at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Jen Ellis has built her career around one core belief: that strong communities change lives. As Owner/Operator of Mommy Connections, she supports thousands of mothers and families across Peel and Halton each year through programs centered on social connection and perinatal education.

Before launching her business, Jen built a decade-long career in Corporate Communications, Branding, and Public Relations across Canadian and European markets. As Account Director, she worked with high-profile clients in the luxury, hospitality, and financial sectors — with highlights including the launch of Air Canada Rouge, global press trips, and marquee events at TIFF, the Bliss Ball in support of SickKids, and The Royal Geographical Society in London.

A true global citizen, Jen has lived in Shanghai, where she performed as a professional dance artist, and in London, where she first built her PR career. She brings that international perspective — and a deep appreciation for community — back home, where she also volunteers at her children's school and serves on the board of the Association for Bright Children of Ontario.

When she's not running her business, Jen can be found training for her next marathon, planning her next family trip, and cherishing time with her kids, husband and cats. She is proud to lend her voice to advocating for gifted children and their families.

Connect with Jen at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

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Yan Zhou is a dedicated parent, active school council executive member, and advocate for improving education in York Catholic District School Board (YCDSB) with a focus on Markham. He maintains a resource website for YCDSB parents at https://yanzhoueducation.ca. As a father of three boys, he understands the challenges that parents face when navigating the school system, and believes in empowering families with the knowledge and resources they need to support their children’s education.

Yan is actively involved in school councils, community initiatives, and advocacy efforts, ensuring that parents have a strong voice in shaping policies that impact their children’s learning experience. From fundraising for school resources to helping families access special education support, he is passionate about collaborating with parents, educators, and community members to improve our schools.

Yan has been recognized for his efforts in community service and advocacy. In 2022, he received the Queen Elizabeth II Platinum Jubilee Award and in 2025, he received the Markham Unionville Achievement Award for his contributions to the community.

Connect with Yan at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Melanie Harsch

Director of Resource and Volunteer Development 

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Melanie Harsch is a Registered Social Worker (RSW) with the Ontario College of Social Workers and Social Service Workers. She holds a Bachelor of Fine Arts (BFA), a Master of Social Work (MSW), and brings years of experience working with children, youth, and adults both locally and abroad. Melanie’s special interest in working with and supporting gifted children and their families grew out of her experience parenting two gifted daughters, experiencing the amazing guidance of the Davidson Young Scholars program (DYS), an organization for families with profoundly intelligent children, and volunteering with the gifted organization Partners for the Advancement of Gifted Education (PAGE), a gifted support organization.
 
Melanie began her therapy career at a clinic for children and families, and after a move to Qingdao, China, she enjoyed years working as a school counselor at an international school. Currently she sees clients in person at a clinic in East York and also works for an international agency, meeting virtually with clients across the globe.
 
Melanie is married to a registered psychotherapist. She and her husband have two daughters in university, a chubby gray cat, a very loud black kitty who loves whipped cream, and a fluffy black rescue puppy named Indie. In her spare time, Melanie volunteers with a community garden and is learning to play pickleball.
 
Wanda Backus-Kelly
Education Liaison 
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Wanda Backus-Kelly is a retired elementary teacher with over 20 years experience working with Gifted, Talented and Gifted 2e students. She worked for a decade as a member of a dedicated team of Enrichment teachers, and then went on to teach Gifted congregated classes. Her final years in teaching were spent as central staff, in the role of Gifted Teacher Consultant. She continues to support teachers to program for the Gifted through a network of informal connections and drop-in meetings in an on-line community. She is married, with two nearly- fully fledged children, and enjoys volunteering across a number of other worthy community causes.

 

The term twice exceptional, often abbreviated as 2e, is used to identify a group of students who are exceptional both because they may have one or more learning disabilities, attention deficit, autism spectrum disorder, emotional or behaviour problems, or other types of learning challenges in addition to being gifted.  

Often overlooked, misclassified, neglected, or receiving inadequate interventions because the characteristics of one exceptionality will mask those of the other and appear as average school achievement. 

Twice exceptional students often require additional supports, enrichment and educational programming to reach their academic and social-emotional potential.

 

If you have any questions, comments, suggestions or stories that you would like to share then please send an email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

ABC Ontario Policies on Special Education

Parents as Partners

ABC Ontario's Policies on Special Education are outlined in the document

Parents as Partners: An Investment in Tomorrow which was developed in 2004.

Click on the link above to view this PDF document.

 

Position Paper on Acceleration (2017): click here.

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF ONTARIO ABC

The Association for Bright Children began in Toronto in 1974 with a few people who believed that bright and gifted children needed an advocacy group. The original members were both educators and parents who shared concerns, information, ideas and disappointments.

PROVINCIAL PRESIDENTS

1974-1978 Sandra Shiner, Ph.D., Toronto

1978-1981 Linda Tu, Ph.D., North York

1981-1984 Hilda Carmichael, Kingston

1984-1986 Barbara Anglin, Ottawa

1986-1990 Margaret Walker, Toronto

1990-1992 Margaret Carter, Guelph

1992-1996 Margaret Tofflemire, Waterloo

1996-2000 Joanne Lee, Mississauga

2000-2002 Michelle Worley, Scarborough

2002-2004 Carol Ann Sloat, Brantford

2004-2006 Elizabeth Buckingham, Ottawa

2006-2008 Christine Thammavongsa, London

2008-April 2010 Dennis Ensing, London (acting)

April 2010 - June 2010 Dennis Ensing, London

2010 - January 2013    Rosanna DelGrosso, Toronto 

2013 - 2014       David Croome, Peel

IMPORTANT DATES IN ABC HISTORY

1977- A constitution was adopted and ABC was incorporated

1976-1980 ABC co-sponsored with the Ministry of Education, four conferences on Gifted Education.

1980 ABC was incorporated as a registered charity

1981 A revised constitution was drafted and ratified at the 1982 AGM

1985 Ontario ABC established a permanent mailing address and phone number in Toronto.

1990 By-Laws revised and ratified by AGM to reflect the move to Central Membership

1990 By-Laws revised and ratified by AGM to adopt style names for ABC: "Association for Bright Children"; and "Société pour enfants doués et Sourdoués"

1990 ABC Advisory Committee established

1991 ABC Policy Document "Parents As Partners" published

2004 ABC Policy Document "Parents As Partners" updated and revised

2006-2008 ABC expanded its annual conferences to include an additional full day of programming geared to educator professional development featuring James Delisle, PhD, Karen Rogers, PhD and Susan Winebrenner respectively

2006 ABC Resource Guide on IEP's published

2008 ABC Resource Guide Revised and Translated

2008 By-laws revised and ratified by AGM to implement trial of free membership model

2009 ABC appointed its first part-time Executive Director, Claire Collins, Mississauga

SOME PAST ABC FAMILY CONFERENCES, LOCATIONS AND THEMES

1986 Ottawa Creative Learning 1987 Scarborough Exploring New Horizons

1988 Waterloo Learning and Growing Together

1989 Halton Our Children, Ourselves

1990 Ottawa Roots and Wings

1991 North York Heart.Head.Hands

1992 Scarborough Building the Future

1993 Cambridge What If?

1994 Kingston Reach for the Stars

2004 London Alan Edmunds, PhD on Meeting the Needs of Exceptionally Gifted Children

2005 Toronto Joanne Foster, PhD on Being Smart About Gifted Children

2006 Toronto Jame Delisle PhD on addressing the Social Emotional Needs of Gifted Learners 

2007 Toronto Karen Rogers, PhD on Re-forming Gifted Education

2008 Toronto Susan Winebrenner on Differentiating Curriculum for Gifted Learners

LETTERS PATENT

Action for Bright Children was registered as a non-profit corporation in the Province of Ontario in 1977. The constitution states that Action for Bright Children is also known as, and activities are carried on under, the name The Association for Bright Children of Ontario and La Société pour enfants doués et sourdoués de l'Ontario. This incorporation embraces the activities of the Provincial organization and its  chapters. 　

REGISTRATION AS A NON-PROFIT ORGANIZATION

ABC was registered with Revenue Canada on September 1, 1980 and assigned Number 0597252-21-13

 

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