Carissa Cruz is a peacebuilder and an advocate for good governance. 

Born into humble roots, Carissa worked various jobs at a young age to fund her education and help her family make ends meet. Despite such challenges, she secured a scholarship and graduated magna cum laude with a degree in accountancy. 

Carissa initially worked for the private sector, however her experiences with economic inequality motivated her to enter a career that would help the greatest number of people in the fastest possible way, and she became a public servant.

Carissa has led her agency's efforts to cooperate with international partners in developing programmes for livelihood, confidence-building, and other related peace interventions.

She was also involved in the Philippines' efforts to combat the pandemic as the Lead of the Coordinating Committee of the NTF against COVID-19. 

Digital democracy and governance, inclusivity in policymaking and cultivating transparency in government are among her research interests. 

Carissa is an Ayala Group Scholar.