With years of experience working within Mass General's Department of Orthopaedic Surgery, Karissa is a dedicated clinician and administrator focused on improving patient care, fostering clinician-patient communication and streamlining health care system navigation. She currently manages the Department of Orthopaedic Surgery at Mass General Brigham Healthcare Center (Danvers), where she has built the Mass General Orthopaedic General Access Clinic. In the clinic, Karissa sees and treats patients north of Boston with a variety of orthopedic concerns. Karissa offers diagnosis and non-operative treatments, in addition to serving as a navigator that can refer patients to the right Mass General surgeon when surgical intervention is warranted. While she specializes in spine care, Karissa is trained as a generalist and treats a wide variety of orthopedic conditions and sports injuries.

Karissa attended Simmons College in Boston where she studied biology. While in school, she volunteered at Brigham and Women's Hospital where she developed a love of patient care. She went on to pursue a Master's in Physician Assistant Studies at Arcadia University in Pennsylvania. She worked in Philadelphia at the Rothman Institute for three years before returning to Boston in 2015. Karissa has been a part of the Mass General Brigham family for eight years, working at BWH and MGH in Orthopaedic Surgery. During this time, she graduated with her Master's of Business Administration, concentrating in healthcare management, from Southern New Hampshire University.