Marissa Wong is a CASC alumni and program director. She recently traveled to Erbil, Iraq as an external evaluator for the Education for Coexistence in Iraq program, implemented by the International Research and Exchanges Board. There, she collected primary data on the experiences of educators who have been applying student-centered, trauma-informed pedagogy in the classroom to bridge divides in Iraqi communities following their liberation from ISIS. The final evaluation report, which Marissa co-authored, was submitted to the US Department of State and made the case for further empowering educators as peacebuilders, strengthening psychosocial supports in schools, and creating systemic change through partnerships with local education ministries.

Marissa has served CASC as a gamma and is the Director of the 2022 Summer Leadership Camp.