Originally from San Diego, California, Larissa’s diverse skill set has taken her to numerous states and communities, but since moving to NJ in 2018, she happily calls it home. A proud Chicana, she specializes in working with Latino communities and is deeply committed to racial justice, LGBTQIA+ rights, equity, and advocacy.
A lifelong advocate for the arts, Larissa co-founded ImpACT Onstage, a nonprofit theatre troupe that provided high school students a platform to address and advocate for issues within their own schools. Her arts education began at the San Diego School of Creative and Performing Arts, followed by a BA in Theatre Arts from Catawba College. Her passion for the theatre industry led her to roles in production management, teaching, and various technical positions, where she embraced the arts’ role in supporting queer community.
As the political climate has become increasingly hostile toward vulnerable communities, she felt compelled to focus on advocacy work. During the pandemic, she pursued two Master’s Degrees from Rutgers University: one in Public Policy and another in Social Work. During this time, she led intersectional programming as President of the Women’s Leadership Coalition and co-authored a report for New Jersey Policy Perspectives (NJPP) on involuntary care policy in New Jersey. Most recently she has also worked with AARP New Jersey to build their volunteer network in Newark and with the Latino Action Network Foundation (LANF) to decolonize higher education spaces for students. It is with great pride that she now continues her career at Garden State Equality.