Speaker Series 2025
Exploring Human Potential
The Mensa Foundation Speaker Series is a bi-monthly journey into intelligence, giftedness, and neurodiversity. Each session brings world-class experts to explore new ideas, challenge assumptions, and spark meaningful dialogue about what it means to be human in a rapidly changing world.
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Is Giftedness a Form of Neurodivergence?
For Educators, Advocates, and Curious Minds Everywhere
The terms neurodiversity and neurodivergence have gained wide acceptance, often helping people feel seen and included. Increasingly, giftedness is placed under this umbrella. This session examines why, despite the benefits of the neurodiversity movement, giftedness should not be classified as neurodivergence. We’ll explore the concept’s origins, its strengths and limitations, and why understanding giftedness on its own terms is essential for well-being.
Reserve Your Spot
Watch from anywhere, on your schedule. Perfect for those who prefer to absorb ideas at their own pace, with full access to the recorded session afterward for just $50.
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Dr. Noks Nauta
Dr. Noks Nauta is a pioneering voice at the crossroads of giftedness, healthcare, and innovation. Trained in both occupational medicine and industrial and organizational psychology, she has spent decades advancing understanding of gifted adults and seniors while reshaping how professionals collaborate across disciplines.
As co-founder and long-time contributor to the Dutch foundation IHBV (Gifted Adults Foundation), Noks has dedicated her career to improving the lives of gifted individuals. Her influential writings—including Gifted Workers and numerous articles translated into English—bring clarity and recognition to the unique challenges and potential of gifted adults and seniors.
Her impact also extends deeply into healthcare. Building on her PhD research into physician collaboration, she has led workshops and trainings that equip healthcare professionals to work together more effectively for the benefit of patients. In 2014, she co-edited a landmark Dutch book on interprofessional collaboration in healthcare, furthering the conversation on how systems and practitioners can better serve people through teamwork.
Whether she is speaking about the lived experience of gifted adults, guiding healthcare teams toward true collaboration, or coaching innovators on how to move from ideas to implementation, Noks brings a rare combination of insight, empathy, and practicality. Her work continues to inspire gifted individuals, healthcare professionals, and organizations worldwide to rethink how human potential can be recognized and realized.
Unleash intelligence. Nurture brilliance.
