Marisa McPherson is the Program Officer at the National Committee on North Korea, where she creates and manages NCNK's social media content, conducts research for NCNK initiatives (including North Korea in the World), oversees member relations & outreach, and often heads the design and implementation stages for NCNK's comprehensive docket of programs and events. She is also the supervisor for NCNK's communications interns and managing editor of NCNK's publications. In 2024, she was one of 4% of candidates selected for the "Connecting Technologies" program hosted by Salzburg Global and the Korea Foundation for Advanced Studies (KFAS) as a Global Leadership Initiative Fellow, where she led discussions on technology's impact on global mental health and North Korea's advancements in AI. She is also a Kim Koo Fellow with The Korea Society, following her participation in the Fall 2024 roundtable series.
Prior to joining NCNK, she served as a Project Associate for the National Democratic Institute’s Communications & Government Relations department. Her background also includes positions at the Council on Foreign Relations, the National Campus Leadership Council, and the Osgood Center for International Studies. She holds a B.A. in Political Science from American University and had the opportunity to study abroad at Yonsei University, where she researched generational divides on multiculturalism in South Korea and explored the impact of North Korean representation in South Korean media on attitudes towards reunification. Outside of the office, she enjoys finding new dishes to cook, practicing her Korean language skills and crocheting more hats than one person really needs.