Cynthia Burrow is the Project Director of the Virtual Job Coach, a program developed through a grant from the Texas Council for Developmental Disabilities (TCDD) in 2012. Her connection to the project comes from a very personal place. The parent of a child with autism with adulthood on the horizon, Cynthia worries about her son’s ability to embrace his challenges and talents and strike out into the world of work. “When I see the faces of our Virtual Job Coach users as they describe landing a job they truly enjoy —when previously they felt they were not qualified to hold any job—I see my own son’s face. I see him grown, independent, and most of all happy.”

Cynthia has worked in the education industry for more than 20 years, serving both private and public educational entities as a program evaluator, instructional designer, writer, and editor. She is the owner of Strategic Education Solutions, LLC, an educational consulting firm serving educational publishers and public education agencies. Cynthia currently serves as an Advisory Board member for the SXSWEdu conference. She has a MA in teaching and curriculum development from Alaska Pacific University and a BS in Speech from Northwestern University.

Wearing a variety of hats, Alisa Miller has conducted research, written and edited instructional content, overseen pilot testing groups, and collaborated with an amazing Project Advisory Team to help make the Virtual Job Coach a reality. Alisa's son is on the autism spectrum. “As the VJC has grown, so has my son. When he was seventeen, he wanted to get a part-time job. I had him use parts of the VJC, and we worked together on the partner support guides. When he went for his first interview, he was hired on the spot. Seeing the effectiveness of the project firsthand is affirmation for all the hard work so many people have devoted and makes me proud to have been a part of the VJC.”

Alisa has been a freelance writer, content developer and social media coordinator, frequently focused on education and advocacy, for more than nine years. She has also been an advocate for the autism community for more than 14 years. Alisa has a BA in psychology from the University of Texas at San Antonio and has completed coursework toward an MA in English literature from Texas State University.