Marissa brings nearly 15 years of national security and trade experience from senior roles in the US government at the US Department of State, US Department of the Air Force, NASA, and US Department of Commerce and at a private defense contractor. Marissa’s background includes drafting and successfully implementing the current official US Department of State export control compliance guidelines and risk assessment criteria for aerospace, defense, and technology companies, resolving complex investigations of export control violations by major US and international defense contractors, and building and auditing trade compliance programs of numerous major multinational corporations and research institutions.
Drawing on this experience, Marissa advises companies on the successful investigation and resolution of suspected violations of US export controls and sanctions, CFIUS, national security laws, negotiation of settlement agreements, and implementing measures to resolve, mitigate, and remediate violations of such laws.
From 2015 to 2025, Marissa served as Chief of the Compliance and Civil Enforcement Division at the Directorate of Defense Trade Controls, US Department of State. As Chief, Marissa supervised all work involving voluntary and directed disclosures, developing and managing consent agreements, to include investigative priorities and penalty calculations, and engaging with the defense industry to ensure compliance with the Arms Export Control Act and the International Traffic in Arms Regulations. Marissa also advised on CFIUS cases, Foreign Emoluments Clause of the United States Constitution, and resolving detainments of shipments with US Customs and Border Protection.
Marissa also completed a special assignment at the US Department of the Air Force as the Foreign Military Sales Country Director for Latin America. Marissa advised US and foreign senior military leaders and major defense companies on implementing security cooperation and defense trade crucial to the US and allies’ national security objectives.
Prior to joining the US Department of State, Marissa worked at the NASA Langley Research Center as the Assistant Center Export Administrator, where she was responsible for assessing and ensuring compliance with NASA policies, US export control laws and regulations, and sanctions. Marissa determined the jurisdiction and classification for thousands of items and approved hundreds of scientific and technical document for public release.
Marissa also worked at a service-disabled veteran-owned small business, where she supported the direct commercial sale of military electronics, aircraft, and ordnance by authoring export licenses and facilitating shipments. While in college, she interned with the US Commercial Service, US Department of Commerce at the US Embassy in Israel to promote US exports by linking US companies with Israeli companies for business partnerships.
