Ages catered for: Marisa is a Health Policy academic with a background in investigative and broadcast journalism and performing arts. She is currently employed by the University of Edinburgh as Programme Director for an innovative MSc by Research in Health Humanities and Arts; Associate Director for the Centre for Creative-Relational Inquiry; Programme Director for the PhD in Health in Social Sciences; and Co-Chair for the Counselling Psychotherapy and Applied Social Sciences Research Ethics Committee. Marisa has led ‘traditional’ public health research using ‘conventional’ approaches and methodologies, as well as creative and arts-informed projects linked to health policy and practice. In 2018, she was winner of The Health Foundation’s X Factor for Evidence for the Public’s Health, arguing for arts-based approaches and social connectivity as evidence in health and inequalities. Marisa has been passionate about the power of theatre for as long as she can remember. She has witnessed and experienced first-hand how youth theatre can transform lives, so she is delighted to be a member of the YTAS board.