Larissa is indebted to her community for the impact the arts have had in her life. Trained in program planning and grant proposal writing by the Grantsmanship Center in Los Angeles with a degree in English and Creative Writing, Larissa seeks to utilize her grant writing skills for projects that increase accessibility to the arts for all and use art as a tool for healing communities. She has written grant proposals for a diverse range of projects, from community arts initiatives to mental health support programs.  Her background in a range of creative arts including visual arts, theater/performance, and literary arts gives her a close connection to the causes she serves. Her belief in the arts as a multi-modal mechanism to bring benefits such as inner awareness, strength, and authentic connection in community is what motivates her to advocate for the organizations doing work she believes in.

She is a board member and grant writer for the Claremont Forum & Prison Library Project and was a selected Grants Review Panelist for the Los Angeles Department of Arts & Culture.