Marisa is a Conciliation Specialist at the U.S. Department of Justice. Stationed in Louisiana, her current position is a continuation of her years of work in the field of public safety and criminal justice issues in New Orleans, where she worked as the Program Manager of the Group Violence Reduction Strategy, one of the Mayor's core initiatives to reduce homicides. Prior to that, Marisa served as Senior Program Associate for the Vera Institute of Justice in New Orleans, where she developed local reform initiatives in partnership with criminal justice agencies, policymakers, and community organizations. This included launching the city’s first Pretrial Services program and working to develop incarceration alternatives for nonviolent, low-level offenses.

Beyond her work in Louisiana, Marisa was the Local Safety Solutions Project Director with Californians for Safety and Justice where she worked with systems and community leaders across California to advance the Blueprint for Shared Safety, a framework of principles and practices that local leaders can use to advance shared safety strategies. She was also a Legislative & Policy Analyst to Oakland City Councilmember Nancy Nadel, where she researched, wrote, and advanced local policies and programs on adult literacy, job development, public safety, affordable housing and more. She further assisted Spanish-speaking clients and witnesses on employment discrimination cases during her work as an Equal Justice Litigation Fellow at The Impact Fund in Berkeley.

Marisa received her J.D. from the University of California, Berkeley, School of Law, and her B.A. in Public Administration from the University of San Francisco.