Carissa is a settler migrant, hailing from a small town in New Zealand called Kawakawa.

She has experience in emergency medical dispatch, leadership and program management. She is also the mum of 4 excellent humans.

Carissa believes in the power of inclusion and strives to ensure that people feel valued, whatever phase of life they are in.

Being a bystander and taking a stand against domestic and family violence is of high importance to Carissa. As such, she facilitates a bystander course that speaks to the casualisation of rigid gender stereotypes and violent tropes. Known for her curious and generous questioning of ideas, Carissa allows people the time to reflect on potential harms perpetuated by language.