Guest Bio:
Jeanette Gil is a Cuban-American author, educator, learning experience designer, and doctoral candidate in Applied Learning Sciences. She is the author of Aloe Vera’s Special Gift and creator of the GIGI Method™, a framework focused on Growth, Identity, Grace, and Intention. Through storytelling, literacy, and family-centered learning experiences, Jeanette helps children and caregivers build connection, confidence, and a deeper sense of belonging.
The following is a transcript of the Lighthouse Spotlight Series conversation, lightly edited for clarity:
Carmen: Alright, well, let’s get started. Welcome, everyone, to the first feature of the Lighthouse Spotlight Series. We created this series to highlight innovators, educators, clinicians, and creators who are making a meaningful impact in the lives of children and families through learning, communication, and connection.
Alicia: Yes, and we’re especially honored that our first guest is Jeanette Gil, author, educator, learning experience designer, and doctoral candidate in Applied Learning Sciences. Jeanette, thank you so much for being here with us today, and for allowing us to share your story and your work with our audience.
Jeanette Gil: Thank you so much for having me, and I’m honored to be your guest on the Lighthouse Spotlight Series. Thank you so much.
Carmen: Absolutely, and Jeanette, your work beautifully blends storytelling, identity, emotional development and learning in such an intentional and compassionate way, and so we’re just really excited for others to learn more about your journey and the inspiration behind your book, Aloe Vera’s Special Gift.
Alicia: Yes, so to get us started, can you tell us a little about yourself and your work?
Jeanette Gil: Of course. I’m an author, educator, doctoral candidate in Applied Learning Sciences, and my work focuses on how storytelling supports identity, emotional development, and learning. My background is actually in business, so this path evolved organically over time, both through my personal experiences and my doctoral journey. I started to realize something that I had always felt intuitively — that stories are one of the most powerful ways that children make meaning of themselves and the world around them.
Becoming a grandmother really shifted things for me. What started as simple storytelling became something deeper — a way to preserve family memories and carry my grandmother’s legacy, so a lot of intergenerational learning and connection. I found myself writing and writing and writing, and eventually, Aloe Vera’s Special Gift came to be. My work continues to evolve through what I call the GIGI Method™, which is a guide that helps with storytelling, identity, emotional development, and learning experiences for children and families.
Alicia: Oh, wow, that sounds incredible. Your journey is incredibly inspiring. So, what originally inspired Aloe Vera’s Special Gift?
Jeanette Gil: The inspiration was very simple — it came from a plant, an aloe plant. Growing up, aloe was very present in my life, even from a cultural standpoint. My grandmother used it for healing, for sunburns, for everything, so I grew up knowing what aloe was and what she did.
Aloe wasn’t always seen as traditionally beautiful. To me, she’s beautiful for many other reasons, but she’s prickly, and you kind of avoid her. As she grows, she gets more prickly. So what started as a simple way to teach children that sometimes you may feel different, you may feel overlooked, misunderstood, and unsure of where you belong — because that’s really the heart of the story. It’s about self-worth, about resilience, healing, and learning to recognize your own unique gifts. The story became a way for children to understand that being different is what makes you extraordinary, it’s what makes you unique, and that we all have a gift.
Carmen: So one thing that stood out to us is how your book supports children in therapeutic and developmental settings. Can you share a little bit more about that?
Jeanette Gil: Absolutely. What I’ve seen, especially through my experience in therapy-centered environments and learning interventions, is that children don’t always respond first to direct instruction, but they do respond to stories. What a story does is create a safe and emotionally accessible space for them.
What I noticed during the interventions was that when the book was incorporated into activities and guided conversations, children engaged differently. Depending on their emotional, developmental, and communication style, some children connected through visuals, some through the story itself, and even through reflection or activities that continued from the story. Storytelling lowered the barrier to engagement, and it created opportunities for the child and the therapist to connect.
From a learning science perspective, it aligned with what we already know — that storytelling supports language development, emotional processing, identity formation, and relational learning all at once. So while the book is simple and accessible, the experience around the story became a very meaningful, layered experience.
Alicia: Yes, and you’ve already answered the next question I was going to ask about the experience, so…
Jeanette Gil: Honestly, it was one of the most meaningful experiences of this journey for me, because in those spaces we just didn’t read — we created an experience together. The caregiver, the students, the therapists, the parents, the children all connected through visuals, through reflection, and even through play-based activities from the story. What was beautiful was that it became a natural entry point for therapists and caregivers to build trust at a child’s pace, so that child felt supported and safe. It created a relationship between them in that moment. Those are the moments that children begin to open up emotionally, when they start to identify with the characters. Those moments are incredibly powerful to witness.
Carmen: That’s beautiful. And you mentioned the book is also available in Spanish, which speaks to your commitment to cultural relevance and inclusion. Why is that so personally meaningful to you?
Jeanette Gil: It’s very personal, because coming from a Cuban background — I’m first generation — I got a lot of culture growing up. I’ve seen how culture shapes the ways that families understand learning, development, communication, and even the challenges that we face with disabilities. Sometimes these things can be misunderstood, there can be stigma around how families access conversations and resources.
Creating bilingual and culturally relevant materials means we’re not just translating words — we’re building trust, we’re building understanding, we’re creating representation and access for these families. It’s incredibly important and personal to me, because when we’re trying to support children, we also need to support the caregivers in meaningful ways so they feel that safety net, that they’re supported and represented in every way possible. I’m in Miami, so we all come from different backgrounds — there’s so much diversity in our community, so it’s important to create these materials in all languages and with that cultural meaning behind them.
Alicia: So, speaking of families, what do you hope families ultimately take away from Aloe Vera’s Special Gift and from your work overall?
Jeanette Gil: I hope that families feel supported, connected, and empowered. At the end of the day, this work really isn’t just about a book or one story — it’s about the relationship between the child and the adult in their lives. If Aloe Vera can become a starting point for even one meaningful conversation, if it helps a child feel seen, if it helps a parent better understand their child, then Aloe is doing exactly what she was created to do. Because it’s in those simple moments that we create the most impact.
Carmen: Earlier, Jeanette, you mentioned the GIGI Method. Before we go, can you tell us a little bit more about what that framework is and how it guides your work?
Jeanette Gil: Sure. The GIGI Method — and just a little nugget, I’m Abuela Gigi to my grandchildren, hence GIGI — really grew from both my lived experiences and my academic work. GIGI stands for Growth, Identity, Grace, and Intention. At its core, it’s about remembering that children don’t just learn content, they learn who they are. This framework helps guide how we support children not only academically, but emotionally, relationally, and developmentally, as whole human beings.
It shapes the way that we think about storytelling and learning environments, even family engagement. Growth, Identity, Grace, and Intention — to me, that is the formula to live your life by.
Carmen: That’s beautiful. I love that acronym. And we truly cannot wait to hear more about the GIGI Method and just how that’s going to grow.
Jeanette, thank you again for taking time to join us for the very first edition of the Lighthouse Spotlight Series. Your work is such a beautiful reminder of the power of storytelling, connection, culture, and intentional learning in the lives of children and families, and we’re so grateful for the insight you shared today. We know that your story and your work will inspire so many educators, therapists, caregivers, and families listening. Could you let us know where we can find your book, where we can find Aloe Vera’s Special Gift?
Jeanette Gil: Absolutely. First, I want to say thank you again — I’m grateful for the opportunity and the conversation, and for being able to continue growing this work. You can find wonderful resources on my website, jeanetteGil.com. There you have access to the book, resources, upcoming events, and any other information. Just reach out to me through my website and you should be able to find everything you need there. And if you don’t, please reach out — I’d love to have further conversations on how I can grow these resources for you.
Carmen: And to everyone tuning in, thank you for joining us for this conversation. We’re excited to continue highlighting voices that are making a meaningful impact in our communities. To learn more about Oceanview Therapy, explore resources, and connect with Jeanette, stay connected to the Spotlight Series. Be sure to visit our website at oceanviewtherapy.com and follow us on social media for updates, educational content, and upcoming collaborations.
Alicia: Yes, thank you so much, everyone, for joining us. Thank you, Jeanette, and we’ll see you next time for another edition of the Lighthouse Spotlight Series, where learning, connection, and communication come together.
