Marissa Morabito

With over 15 years of legislative and public policy experience, Marissa Morabito currently serves as the Chief Government Affairs & Policy Officer at Prevent Child Abuse America, where she has been on staff since 2014. In this capacity, Marissa specializes in public policy and advocacy leadership for the organization, including mobilizing support for the organization’s federal policy priorities, outreach to Congress, participation in national coalitions, and increasing the advocacy capacity of PCA America’s nationwide state chapter network and its signature home visiting program, Heathy Families America. She works closely with the U.S. Senate Finance, House Ways & Means and Appropriations Committees, among others, and cultivates relationships with key elected officials, staff, decision-makers, and federal agency leaders.
Marissa chaired the National Child Abuse Coalition Prevention Subcommittee, which worked with the federal bi-partisan Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities (CECANF) enacted by Congress and is a steering committee member of the National Home Visiting Coalition.
Prior to joining PCA America, Marissa was appointed Research Director at a national legislative political organization and worked closely with legislators and stakeholders. Marissa developed model legislation derived from the best practices and most successful legislation in states across the nation. Upon arriving in Washington, DC, she worked as a senior associate at one of the nation’s leading state government relations firms, where she provided high-level political intelligence to 25 clients regarding emerging legislative activity within a 12 state territory.
Before moving to DC, Marissa was a trusted policy advisor at the Arizona House of Representatives, where she helped formulate policy by researching, analyzing, and drafting state legislation while working in partnerships with legislators, state agencies, and stakeholders to assess proposed policy, gather feedback, and understand concrete impact of budget and legislative bills. She testified on potential laws in caucus weekly and specified their legislative impacts to social services, state departments, interests groups, and public policy.
Marissa helped draft two bills, which were subsequently passed into law, on behalf of the U.S. Department of Defense. Through this effort, she received a letter of appreciation from the Department of Defense. Her portfolio further includes a letter of recommendation from Congresswoman Gabrielle Gifford, special recognition from former U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security, Janet Napolitano, and the President’s Student Service Award from the Clinton Administration for her community service as a health worker in Honduras.
Marissa holds a BA in Political Science from Arizona State University.
Resources and blog posts
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Taking ACES Upstream: Strengthening Prevention of Adverse Childhood Experiences
This report addresses the continued findings and research from the Adverse Childhood Experience (ACES) Study, which has identified robust associations between a child experiencing early trauma and a wide array of poor health, economic, and life outcomes.
Affinity Group Reports
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Paid Family Medical & Sick Leave Toolkit
This toolkit is a product of the Prevent Child Abuse (PCA America) Chapter Network Policy Affinity Group’s work across the policy area of paid family leave as a strategy in the prevention of child abuse and neglect.
Affinity Group Reports
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The Role of Paid Family Medical & Sick Leave One-pager
Toolkits & Guides