A native Wisconsinite, Carissa studied music and linguistics at the University of Central Florida. She lived in Orlando for ten years between college, teaching high school English, and working as a non-profit event coordinator before spending a year serving in India. Carissa loves traveling and has visited over 20 countries, but her favorite place to be is wherever her nieces are. Carissa is working on an M.A. in Ministry Leadership from Crown College. She also loves using creativity and strategic thinking to encourage people to be all that God made them to be usually involving tacos, iced coffee, or British dramas.