About Karissa

Karissa leverages her six years of project management and public health outreach experience to support the Military Health System (MHS) and the Defense Health Agency (DHA) in the development of strategic communications.

Before joining Ward Circle Strategies, Karissa served as the Account Manager for the Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine, where she was responsible for expanding the organization’s reach and influence at the State and Federal level through coalition building and a successful campaign on SBIRT for substance use disorder screening.

While working with Montgomery County Medical Society, Karissa managed all communications and publications for the association, as well as external projects and programs aimed at improving quality and access to care.

Karissa holds Bachelor of Arts degrees in political science and history from the University of Oregon, where she was also a founder of the Wayne Morse Center for Law & Politics Scholars program.

Career Highlights

• Ward Circle Strategies, Senior Associate
• Maryland-DC Society of Addiction Medicine, Account Manager
• Montgomery County Medical Society, Communications & Program Specialist
• University of Oregon Labor Education & Research Center, Program Assistant & Corporate Entity Researcher

3 Fun Facts

• Karissa is a chess enthusiast, and she often can be found playing at the Charm City Chess Club in her free time.
• She played football on a boys’ team for five years and remains a dedicated fan of the Seahawks and UO Ducks to this day.
• Karissa has three cats, each named after a famous chef or food writer.