John D. Couch is Vice President of Education at Apple. A former UC Berkeley graduate student, HP engineer and manager, and Cal State University lecturer, John was recruited by Steve Jobs in 1978, becoming Apple's 54th employee. He left in 1984 and spent ten years using innovative technology to transform a struggling K-12 school in San Diego, which is now a National Blue-Ribbon school. At Jobs' request, John returned to Apple in 2002, tasked with bringing education into the digital age. He has been a vocal proponent of personalized learning and was Apple's representative to President Obama's National Education Technology Plan and ConnectEd initiative. In 2017, John funded the establishment of a new Student Learning Research Fellowship at Harvard University, designed to support cutting-edge research for improving student learning and motivation.