Clarisa has played key roles in every aspect of business development, strategic communications, branding, product development and marketing for the last decade. Starting her career as a technical recruiter and moving into sales and marketing in the health and wellness world, she finally landed in the fast paced world of innovation and startups. 

Clarisa’s path has always been centered on building brands and revenue through relationships. She brings fresh eyes and an amazing skill set to every project she touches. Her unique experience in working closely with founders and CEOs in order to grow revenue and the company laid the foundation for her current consulting practice, Proximity to Power. She is currently working alongside CEOs to strengthen the marketing and sales practices of high-growth companies by fortifying the foundation of the brand and the development of monetization strategies to impact revenue growth. She thrives on helping businesses embrace change and solve problems. And she does this by utilizing her extraordinary network of corporate partners, media, investors and startup innovation. It is at the intersection of this network, where opportunity is endless.

As Chief Revenue Officer of Tech Wildcatters, a nationally ranked top ten, technology accelerator, she led the growth of the organization’s brand and revenue through PR, corporate partnerships, strategic events, and fund-raising. Serving as the liaison into the innovation community on a local, national and global level where she helped establish collaborative relationships and recruit startups, investors, and corporate partners. Her ability to connect people to opportunity along with her passion for creative problem solving is what fuels her success. In her tenure she grew revenue over 650% through partnerships with: American Airlines, Blue Star Sports, Amazon Web Services, Zenefits, Comerica Bank, SoftLayer/IBM, ANSYS, RSM, Whitley Penn, Jackson Walker, Silicon Valley Bank, Dominion Harbor, Able Lending, Roberts Foster and others. In 2015, Clarisa led the partnership and production of Dallas’ largest Pitch Day at the American Airlines Center with the Dallas Stars, bringing the regions top investors, entrepreneurs, media and brands together to support startup innovation. Lastly, in 2016, Clarisa led the fund raising efforts of the 7th and largest fund by cultivating relationships with both current and new Angel Investors, Family Offices and Venture Capital.

In her role as the Director of Sales and Marketing for TELOS Fitness Center, Clarisa loved the challenge of growing this local concept and leading a complete brand overhaul. This unique, multi-department, high-end fitness center allowed her creativity, strong messaging skills and passion for visual aesthetics to flourish. Clarisa managed every aspect of: branding initiatives, marketing strategy, SEO and the website, social media, corporate wellness, special events and sales. During her last year at TELOS, recurring sales grew by over 50% and she helped to launch a new proprietary brand of Personal Training and National Certification, Ortho-Kinetics ™. It was the breadth and depth of this experience that prepared her to work with startups and CEOs on messaging, branding, business development, product launches and corporate relations.

From sitting on the inaugural committee of Baylor Healthcare System’s key women’s health event For Women For Life, serving on the Board of the Deep Ellum Association, to speaking at the IHRSA convention on “Managing the Modern Day Marketing Budget”, Clarisa enjoys being an evangelist for the brands she represents. Her passion for wellness and serving the community have lead her to serve on multiple American Heart Association Boards and committees where she can use her talents toward helping others. 

Clarisa currently sits on the advisory board of D Innovates, The Iron Yard, and serves as a Mentor at The Mill Accelerator in Las Vegas. She has a knack for seeing the big picture and loves to help people and businesses connect. She is always “promoting” what she is passionate about and has never met a stranger.

Clarisa has a BS in Corporate Communications from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from UT Dallas in Marketing and Entrepreneurship. Clarisa and her husband Matt have two young sons and a little girl on the way. While being a mother is her most important role, Clarisa is quick to say that her professional life makes her a better mom and being a mom makes her better in her career.