Marissa Caputo
Special Education Advocate
Marissa Caputo has dedicated her career and personal life to education and advocacy, both locally and globally. Born and raised on Long Island, NY, she moved to Texas in 2003 and collaborated with the CDC, FDA, DoD, and Emergency Management on bioterrorism threats. For the next 20 years, she educated medical professionals at Johnson & Johnson, Abbott, and Siemens Robotics.
In 2023-2024, life-altering circumstances led to Marissa becoming disabled, fueling her passion for access to accommodations for students and adults with disabilities. As a single mother, she fiercely advocated for her sons with special needs. Discovering advocacy services through a non-profit, she found her calling to support students and families.
Marissa still calls Texas home, located in the Hill Country. Besides advocacy, she supports other advocates with caseload management, digital transformation, and operations optimization. Throughout her career, she promoted diversity and inclusion, becoming a change-maker in adaptive and inclusive learning. She worked with organizations like the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation, Michael J. Fox Foundation, and Autism Speaks to develop inclusive curriculums, setting a global standard of excellence.
Her passion for education and advocacy started in high school, where she founded STAR (Students Together Against Racism) in 1994. She also volunteered as a Special Olympics coach, growing her understanding of persons with disabilities. Trained in several martial arts disciplines including Tae Kwon Do, Hapkido, and Tang Soo Do, Marissa has taught self-defense courses to all ages while adapting instruction to meet varying needs and abilities. As a certified martial arts instructor, she provided community self-defense opportunities and addressed anti-bullying tactics.
Marissa continues to serve her community and support those in need across the United States.