A Sacramento native, Carissa grew up enjoying some of the country’s freshest produce and cooking with it in her family’s kitchen alongside her mother and grandmother. While studying film at the University of California, Santa Barbara, and then working in the film industry in Los Angeles, she continued to be captivated by all things food-related—avidly reading magazines and collecting cookbooks, as well as testing out recipes on her lucky friends and family. Carissa’s lifelong interest steered her career path in 2005, when she moved to San Francisco to pursue her love of food and attend the California Culinary Academy. An internship and freelance work post-graduation followed with the San Francisco Chronicle‘s Food and Wine sections and this put her in touch with Wagstaff Worldwide, which she joined in 2006. She has worked with a diverse roster of clients—from celebrated, Michelin-starred restaurants to theatre and music festivals. Her interests outside of work are just as varied, and include running, painting, and traveling, whether abroad or staying close to home and exploring all the Bay Area has to offer. She is also a member of the Young Professional Advisory Council for the Greater Bay Area Make-A-Wish Foundation.