Marissa was born and raised in Long Island, NY. In school she would always be found drawing during classes in order to practice her drawing skills as an artist. It wasn’t until after many years of hard academic work in school and not being able to succeed in math or science, she decided to choose a career as a starving artist.

Marissa is a proud alumnus from the Maryland Institute College of Art with a BFA in Illustration and a Masters in Art Education. She has worked as an Art teacher with students with special needs in Howard County, MD. Marissa loves to work with kids and dreams of illustrating books for them as well. In her free time she loves to play piano, cook and travel. She is grateful for her travel experiences and would like to thank everyone who has been a part of her life, because without them she wouldn’t have the inspiration to create her work.