Strengths Based Parenting

Mary Reckmeyer is the executive director of Gallup's Donald O. Clifton Child Development Center in Omaha, NE. Under Reckmeyer's leadership, the Center has received national attention for excellence in early childhood education, workplace contribution, and developmental results, and it has helped thousands of children build their lives around their strengths. The Center has served as a model for schools nationwide and as a training center for teacher development and education. Reckmeyer has been with Gallup for more than 30 years. She has served as an educational and strengths-based development consultant and seminar leader; has studied talent-based interviews of more than 2,000 individuals, including children, teachers, and parents; and helped create the Clifton StrengthsExplorer, an assessment designed to identify talent in young people. Reckmeyer also coauthored How Full Is Your Bucket? for Kids, based on the number one New York Times bestseller How Full Is Your Bucket? Reckmeyer is a former preschool and elementary teacher who holds degrees in educational psychology and education. Her research focus is on youth strengths development, parents of minority achieving students, learning disabilities, educational programming, and lifespan development. She has studied outstanding schools and has conducted formal research into what makes an outstanding child care center. Reckmeyer studied at the University of Texas and the University of Nebraska, Lincoln. She and her husband live in Lincoln, NE, and have four children.