Tiffany Kent first dreamed up Bright Kids Coalition when she realized how hard it was to find real, practical resources for her profoundly gifted son. As a mom of four bright boys, a former educator, a PK-12 curriculum developer, and someone who was herself identified as “gifted” growing up, Tiffany noticed something important: many children (including those with bright and highly capable minds) struggle not due to a lack of cognitive capability, but because their executive functioning skills develop more slowly than their reasoning skills.When executive functioning skills lag behind, everyday life becomes harder than it needs to be for children, parents, and educators.

Tiffany began to see the same pattern supported by research. Highly capable kids were often held back from reaching their full potential because of things like internalized perfectionism, fear of failure, emotional intensity, difficulty adapting, disorganization, and incomplete follow-through. Meanwhile, adults in the lives of these gifted children often assumed they would be “just fine” because of their intelligence. Over time, Tiffany watched too many bright kids simply burn out, withdraw, shut down, or fall short of their potential. This same pattern occurred in public school, private schools, and with homeschooled students who were gifted intellectually but struggling with executive functioning skills. It became clear to Tiffany that IQ or ability was not the predictor of success; Executive functioning skills were.

This understanding that executive functioning skills actually have a greater impact on a child’s success is strongly supported by Harvard University’s Center on the Developing Child, which notes that executive function skills are more critical to long-term success than raw intelligence. They describe EF as the “air traffic control system of the brain,” guiding how children plan, focus, remember, regulate emotions, shift between tasks, and complete goals.

Inspired by this knowledge and motivated by her own children’s experiences, Tiffany returned to graduate study with emphasis on Gifted Education Curriculum Development. She began developing resources for educators to help them understand the gifted brain, and eventually turned her research and firsthand experience towards parents through the launch of Bright Kids Coalition.

The goal of Bright Kids Co. is to empower parents and educators with practical, neuroscience-informed ways to support the executive functioning skills that matter most:

• Working Memory
• Inhibition and Self-Control
• Cognitive Flexibility
• Emotional Regulation
• Task Initiation
• Organization
• Planning and Prioritization
• Goal-Directed Behavior
• Sustained Attention
• Time Management
• Metacognition (thinking about thinking)

These skills form the foundation for learning, behavior, social growth, and wellbeing. When children develop stronger EF skills, families experience fewer meltdowns, clearer communication, better routines, and far less frustration on all sides. It is never too early to nurture executive function, so Tiffany supports families from infancy through the high school years with developmentally aligned strategies. Tiffany provides a wide range of resources, including practical guides, downloadable tools, expert interviews, classes, and personalized 1:1 consulting in both executive functioning and parenting gifted children. She also partners with schools, offering educator-focused consultation that helps teachers integrate executive function support directly into their classrooms.

Tiffany’s mission is to make giftedness and executive functioning easier for families to understand and navigate. She believes that when parents understand how their child’s brain works, everything becomes more manageable. And she knows that strategies created for gifted learners can help all children thrive.