Marissa Galardi

Marissa Galardi is a senior associate at Sheikh/Impact, where she provides support to clients in the areas of public and institutional funding solicitation, program research and development, strategic communications and more. 

Before joining Sheikh/Impact, Marissa worked at Nebraska Family Planning as the director of resource development and a women’s health care strategist. In her time there, she helped secure Title X funding for the state of Nebraska, as well as a $3.5 million grant for sexual and reproductive health services. Marissa also supported organizational communications and outreach, including the launch of a youth-driven statewide telehealth campaign. Additionally, she partnered with Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) and stand-alone clinics to address access and equity barriers in the state’s public health safety net. 

Born and raised in rural Nebraska, Marissa holds a bachelor's degree from Creighton University in journalism, with specializations in theater and women and gender studies. At Creighton University, Marissa provided event and communications support to the Violence Intervention and Prevention Center to raise awareness about sexual assault and domestic violence on campus. She served in multiple positions with the student newspaper, The Creightonian, as both an arts and culture editor and social media editor. After graduation, she worked with a local arts nonprofit, facilitating the organization’s first-ever virtual arts festival at the height of the COVID-19 pandemic. 

When Marissa is not at the beach with her two dogs, she is exploring all that California has to offer. Marissa has a passion for volunteering with local sexual health and reproductive justice nonprofits and tending to her extensive array of houseplants.