Marisa was born, raised, and educated in Manila, Philippines, where she attended Catholic schools from preschool through high school. She immigrated to the United States in 1983 and moved to the Bay Area in 1986. A longtime member of the O’Dowd community, she is the proud parent of two O’Dowd graduates, Jessica ’05 and Jonathan ’08.

After retiring in 2022, Marisa returned to O’Dowd in 2023 as the Dragon Den Store Manager, a role she happily “unretired” for after many years of volunteering with the Performing Arts program. She values O’Dowd’s commitment to academic excellence, diversity, and the compassionate spirit of its community.

Outside of school, Marisa enjoys traveling—especially to Italy and Machu Picchu—visiting museums and antique shops, cooking, and cheering on the San Francisco 49ers as a longtime Faithful Forty Niner fan.