// Your path Your path Switch ↻
Dr. Teresa Vásquez · Nashville, TN

Building neuroinclusive
environments where
brilliance unmasks itself.

Built on research. Backed by data.

Data scientist, researcher, engineering leader, and founder. I build products, teams, and learning environments where enrollment is easy, brilliance is recognized, and the systems keep working after I leave the room.

Co-Founder & CDO · Autism Possible® / Repped in Tech® / Repped Labs
Free Agent · Engineering Leadership & Software Engineering, ~30 yrs
NISE Fellow · Frist Center for Autism & Innovation, Vanderbilt
EdD · MBA · MS Data Science (in progress) · LinkedIn
Dr. Teresa Vásquez
// 2023 SE OF THE YEAR NTC
// Experience it

This is what I move.

// two lenses, one truth
Chaotic environment
⚡ Chaotic 🌿 Neuroinclusive
💡
Fluorescent Flicker
To most people it's just lighting. To a neurodivergent brain, the invisible 60Hz flicker registers as constant low-grade pain — like trying to focus with someone tapping your temple all day.
// I audit and redesign these exact conditions — I help move the slider.
← drag to see it change
// The brag wall

Receipts. Tap any tile.

// Choose your path

Why are you here?

Pick what fits — I'll guide you through the most relevant sections.

// Why Work Together

What you actually get.

// outcomes, not autobiography
// data scientist & researcher

Research-grade thinking, shipped at production speed.

An EdD plus an MS in Data Science in progress at Vanderbilt, the REMLE framework from peer-reviewed doctoral work, and active research on neurodivergent workforce trajectories. I read the literature, run the analysis, and translate it into something a team can use on Monday.

Data strategy Mixed-methods research Adult learning Frameworks → product
// engineering leader & builder

Almost 30 years of code that didn't break.

Software engineering since 2002; engineering leadership since 2019. Selected client roster spans ed-tech, healthcare, and marketing-platform companies, plus finance, nonprofit, and data clients. I build systems that keep running after I leave.

Full-stack Eng. leadership LMS & learning ops Forbes-recognized curriculum
// speaker, producer & community architect

Rooms remember the talks. Communities stay.

Keynote speaker, podcast host, live-stream host, and TEDx producer with millions of views on talks I curated. Founder of a community of 400+ neurodivergent technologists. Belonging is the infrastructure I build, not just the thing I talk about.

Keynotes & workshops Media-ready Community design TEDx production
01 / About

The short version.

// who, what, why
Who's Dr. Vás. You are exactly enough. You are right on time.

Twenty-eight years writing code. Hundreds of technologists taught.

Dr. Teresa "Dr. Vás" Vásquez has spent twenty-eight years writing code and taught hundreds of technologists to write it too. She's a Software Engineer of the Year, a doctorate holder, and a repeat hackathon and pitch-competition winner — and a Black, neurodivergent woman who talks straight about the climb and joyfully about the gift.

She designs learning spaces on one belief: design for how neurodistinct people think, and every mind in the room does better. Her research covers neurodistinction, the future of work, and environment.

Mother of eight — four with two legs, four with four. A cook. A livestreamer. A woman who wears every color at once, on purpose. Her closing line, every time: when you love yourself first, loving everybody else gets easy.

02 / Reel

Full media-ready.

// keynote · podcast · live · producer
// the commercial
Dr. Vás · Repped Commercial
// keynote
Speaking Sample
Keynote Speaker
Podcast Host
Live-Stream Host
Video Producer
Creator Monetization · 4+ Yrs
03 / Experience

The work.

// click to expand
Leadership
Expand
  • Co-founded and lead a multi-brand social enterprise — owning data strategy, product analytics, and a proprietary learning framework — that runs without daily founder intervention.
  • Led engineering teams and technical strategy across product, finance, nonprofit, and data-focused clients as an independent engineering leader.
  • Turned around a struggling program as its head of community and curriculum, cutting student attrition by more than 70% in a single year across 300+ students.
  • Directed a 200+ member async learning community and built the automation that let it scale without adding headcount.
Technologist, Engineer & Data Scientist
Expand
  • Shipped production software for 16+ years across higher education, healthcare, ed-tech, and enterprise-data environments.
  • Own data strategy and product analytics for a multi-product learning platform built on a proprietary adult-learning framework.
  • Built internal LMS platforms and full-stack web applications, and administered the enterprise systems running on them.
  • Delivered hands-on engineering and technical-strategy work across product, finance, nonprofit, and data-focused client engagements.
Community & Education
Expand
  • Mentored 400+ neurodivergent technologists into roles, raises, and renewed self-advocacy.
  • Designed and led curriculum recognized as Best Web Developer Bootcamp and Best Full-Stack Bootcamp nationally, supporting 300+ students.
  • Taught continuously at the university level for 15+ years — courses in AI, technology leadership, change management, negotiation, and strategy.
  • Founded a TEDx program that produced 19 talks with 5M+ views, while directing sponsorships for a statewide women-in-tech organization.
04 / Recognition

Honors & awards.

// 2020 — present
2026
Commencement Speaker
Nashville State Community College
2025
Distinguished Alumni of the Year
Nashville State Community College
2023
Software Engineer of the Year
Greater Nashville Technology Council
2024 · 2025
Best Web Developer Bootcamp · Best Full-Stack Bootcamp
Forbes Advisor · bootcamp program led during tenure
2023
Joanne Eckton Excellence Award
Greater Nashville Technology Council
2023 · 2024 · 2025
Community Leader of the Year, Finalist
Greater Nashville Technology Council
05 / Hackathons

Builder. Winner. Sponsor.

// 48 hours, real solutions
Hackathons are how I keep my engineering hands warm and my product instincts sharp. I've competed, won, mentored teams, and now sponsor the events that bring the next generation in. The wins below are projects that started as 48-hour sprints and went on to become real conversations.
Global Winner · 2021
SafeSpace
Girls in Tech & Nike Mental Health Hackathon

Global-winning application supporting Black women's healing from workplace trauma. Built in 48 hours, won the international category, and continues to inform conversations about workplace mental health design.

Winner · 2024
Pencil Tech
Hack for the Community

First-place hackathon solution enabling nonprofits to manage teacher supply inventory and stakeholder communications — built in partnership with PENCIL and shipped as a working concept.

Multiple Wins
Hack for the Community
2020 · 2022 · 2024

Three years of wins at the regional civic-tech hackathon — solutions for nonprofits, schools, and community-serving organizations across Middle Tennessee.

Annual Sponsor
Imagine_BGKY Hackathon
WKU Innovation Campus · Bowling Green, KY

Now on the other side of the table — sponsoring the annual hackathon that brings programmers, designers, and innovators together to imagine the future of Bowling Green and the Commonwealth. Extending neuroinclusive opportunity across state lines.

06 / Projects

Things I've built & shipped.

// updated as new work goes live
Building in public · live now

Learning in the Open Live

Watch me work. I stream MS Data Science coursework, NISE research notes, REMLE iterations, and applied projects — the messy middle, not just the polished end. Recruiters and PhD committees: this is what active research looks like in real time.

Data Science (MS in progress) Research methods Building in public
twitch.tv/reppedlabs
Watch live streams & past episodes
Open on Twitch →
Engineering · client engagement

Ed-tech platform audit $500K+ saved / yr

Conducted an internal audit of the engineering and infrastructure footprint for a children's movement and learning platform used in millions of classrooms. Simplified systems, redesigned the data architecture, and scaled what stayed — saving the company over $500,000 per year in operational cost.

Internal audit Architecture Cost optimization Scale
Engineering · 6 weeks · under budget

Client UI & CI/CD build Shipped

Built a new UI, full design library, and CI/CD pipeline for a client product — shipped in six weeks, under budget. End-to-end: design system, component library, deployment automation, and the production rollout.

Design system Component library CI/CD Under budget
Platform · 2025 · in build

Repped Labs Adaptive Life-OS

The adaptive life-OS for neurodivergent builders. Spoon-theory grounded, data-informed, and gamified — Labs, Playgrounds, Cheat Sheets, Documentation, and Projects layered into one operating system for daily life and growth. Co-Founder & CDO.

Social enterprise Data strategy REMLE-powered
Visit reppedlabs.org →
Research · ongoing

REMLE Framework

A learning model and organizational change tool from my doctoral research — Reframing, Evidence, Momentum, Legacy, Elevation. The spine underneath every product, program, and stage I lead.

Doctoral research Adult learning Framework
Civic tech · 2021

SafeSpace

Global-winning application supporting Black women's healing from workplace trauma. Girls in Tech & Nike Mental Health Hackathon — international winner.

Global winner Mental health Workplace
Civic tech · 2024

Pencil Tech

First-place hackathon solution enabling nonprofits to manage teacher supply inventory and stakeholder communications. Built with PENCIL, Nashville's classroom resource nonprofit.

Nonprofit Inventory Communications
07 / Funded

Fellowships & grants.

// invested in the work
Fellowship · 2026
NISE Fellow
Frist Center for Autism & Innovation · Vanderbilt University

Selected fellow on the 18-month Graduate Certificate track in Neurodiversity Inspired Science & Engineering — deliberately chosen to build relationship capital and fully experience Vanderbilt while concurrently pursuing an MS in Data Science.

Fellowship · 2025
NeuroCorp Fellow
National neurodivergent workforce initiative

Selected to advance research-to-practice work on neurodivergent workforce development and the environmental conditions that make agency and self-advocacy possible.

Grant · $300K+
Tennessee DSEW Grant
Department of Disability and Employment Workforce

Over $300,000 in awarded funding to advance neurodivergent workforce development programming — translating the REMLE framework into accessible, scalable adult learning outcomes across Tennessee.

Grant · 2025
Comcast RISE Grant
Representation, Investment, Strength & Empowerment

Awarded recipient of the Comcast RISE Grant — recognizing small businesses making an impact in their communities and providing resources to fuel continued growth.

Grant · 2026
Repped Labs
Sullivan Family Ideator Cohort · NSF I-Corps Hub Mid-South

Summer 2026 Micro Grant Recipient — awarded through the Sullivan Family Ideator Cohort, a virtual entrepreneurship program at Vanderbilt's The Wond'ry culminating in a Pitch Day before a panel of business leaders, investors, and entrepreneurs.

Wins · 2020 & 2025
Nashville Entrepreneur Center
Pitch for Good · Impact Grant

Pitch for Good · Black Founders Edition Winner (2020) — early validation for the founder work that became Repped in Tech® and Repped Labs. Impact Grant Finalist (2025) — selected from a competitive cohort of mission-driven Nashville founders.

08 / Service

Boards & community.

// where I show up
Producer & Curator
TEDxAntioch
Antioch, TN
Past

Produced and curated TEDx talks that have gone on to reach millions of views — coaching speakers, shaping narrative arcs, and building the production pipeline that turned local ideas into global ones.

Board of Advisors
Frist Center for Autism & Innovation
Vanderbilt University
2021 — Present

Strategic guidance on technology, workforce development, and neurodiversity in higher education. Contributing to policy and research initiatives improving postsecondary experiences for autistic learners.

Director of Sponsorships
Women in Technology of Tennessee
WiTT
2024 — Present

Strengthening nonprofit partnerships, fundraising, and member engagement through neuroinclusive program design and outreach.

Emerging Leaders Board Member
PENCIL
Nashville, TN
2024 — Present

Supporting educational equity and career pathways for neurodiverse and underserved youth through partnerships with schools and community organizations.

PTSO Member
Early College High School
ECHS · Tennessee
Active

Active member of the Parent-Teacher-Student Organization, supporting student programming, community engagement, and family-school partnerships at an early college high school where students earn dual high school and postsecondary credit.

Pro-Bono Speaker
Community Events & Schools
Friday & weekend appearances
Ongoing

Reserve Friday and weekend availability for pro-bono speaking, panels, and community appearances — bringing neuroinclusive perspectives into rooms where access matters more than fees.

09 / Education

Credential stack.

// the receipts
Graduate Cert · NISE
Neurodiversity Inspired Science & EngineeringIn Progress
Vanderbilt University · Frist Center for Autism & Innovation
MS
Data ScienceIn Progress
Vanderbilt University
EdD
Technology and Adult Learning
Trevecca Nazarene University
MBA
Organizational Leadership and Technology
Trevecca Nazarene University
Postbaccalaureate
Secondary Education and Teaching
Trevecca Nazarene University
BS
English, Digital Communication and Media
Middle Tennessee State University
AA
English
Nashville State Community College
10 / Toolkit

Core competencies.

// what I bring
Neurodiversity & Autism Advocacy Workforce Development Low-Friction Enrollment Design Higher Education Leadership Software Engineering & Engineering Leadership Data Strategy & Analytics Adult Learning & Curriculum Design REMLE Framework Program & Event Management Professional Development Nonprofit Leadership Public Speaking & Keynotes Technology Integration Research-to-Practice Translation Universal Design for Learning Community Building Product Strategy
Ready to build a room
where brilliance unmasks itself?