Our Staff

Marisa’s family came to Toronto from Sparta and after her parents became highschool teachers they moved to Kingston. Eager to explore bigger cities, Marisa obtained an Honours degree in Communications from Simon Fraser University in Vancouver before moving to Victoria to pursue public relations, journalism and publishing. In 2006, after teaching ESL in South Korea for a year, she landed back in Toronto to work freelance contracts in advertising as a copywriter and content strategist. Marisa has been working with charities for over 12 years, raising funds from individual donors and community groups for causes closest to her heart, such as animal welfare, education, the environment and social justice. Marisa manages the solicitation and stewardship for individual donors at EDC, as she has for charities like Indspire, March of Dimes and SPCA. She’s been volunteering with cat rescue groups for 10 years and in her spare time she also plays bass guitar, writes fiction and maintains a 114-year-old home. Marisa enjoys relaxing in her backyard with a resident Cooper’s hawk, travelling, seeing concerts, cooking and taking pictures of her special needs cats.