Teresa Thomas is Director of the abilIT program, overseeing not only Melwood’s program, but also the nation-wide network of abilIT providers. Thomas brings nearly a decade of experience in neurodivergent talent recruiting and retention, along with deep insights into abilIT’s success. Previously at MITRE, she designed and led a neurodiversity internship program and launched innovative pilot neurodiversity hiring programs at federal agencies. Thomas has led and trained teams in neurodiversity-focused best practices, co-authored influential works on the topic—including the Neurodiversity@Work Playbook: Federal Edition—and is a parent to an adult on the autism spectrum.