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Marissa works to develop strategies for biodiversity conservation and sustainable livelihoods through conservation enterprise. She comes from an interdisciplinary conservation biology background, holding a B.A. in Human Ecology from College of the Atlantic and an M.A. in Environmental Studies from Prescott College. Her thesis studied wildlife-based ecotourism as a conservation strategy. Since 2016 Marissa has worked with the Wildlife Friendly Enterprise Network (WFEN) where she helps implement and grow certification programs that contribute to coexistence of people and wildlife. She works with companies to improve practices within and beyond supply chains for the benefit of biodiversity. Marissa has consulted for NGOs and programs and recently helped launch Textile Exchange’s Biodiversity Benchmark and Insights Report. She has conducted fieldwork, worked in collections, and served as U.S. Youth Delegate at the 16th CITES CoP. Marissa is interested in the role of the private sector in facilitating conservation in partnership with communities, citizen science, equitable benefit sharing, and protection of Traditional Ecological Knowledge.