About Marissa

Marissa graduated from James Madison University in May 2021, where she studied International Relations and Spanish. In school, she spent her extracurricular time volunteering at local non-profits such as Salvation Army, Boys and Girls Club, and a local non-profit community garden. She has also worked as a tour guide. 

During her time in school, Marissa interned with Dress For Success—a nonprofit dedicated to supporting women in the removal of barriers in returning to the workplace. Marissa highly enjoyed this job because one of her biggest passions in life is supporting and empowering women, especially in a financial manner. 

After school, Marissa lived in New York City and worked as a fellow for the Work First Foundation which is an employment services organization for people receiving TANF or SNAP benefits. Marissa worked as a grant writer and loved the job for the behind-the-scenes perspective it gave her into to finance and the success of non-profits.

Marissa currently lives in Arlington, and volunteers with a local Boys & Girls Club as a tutor once a week. Her hobbies are reading, hiking, plants, camping, and anything of the outdoor nature. Marissa’s work with WCS focuses mainly on NPWH and assisting in their fundraising and development efforts, as well as pulling news clips for Red Wine & Blue.

Career Highlights

• Ward Circle Strategies, Associate
• America Works, Education and Grants Team Fellow
• Dress for Success Pittsburgh, Intern

3 Fun Facts

• Marissa has made it a personal goal to see every national park in the U.S.
• Marissa is super passionate about cooking and hopes to write her own cookbook someday.