Marisa Renee Lee

Marisa Renee Lee is a called upon grief advocate, entrepreneur, and bestselling author of "Grief is Love: Living with Loss." Deemed "the friend we all wish we had in times of need" by Elaine Welteroth, Marisa is able to utilize research-based advice and wisdom to help others navigate the complicated and challenging emotions we face when experiencing loss, offering unique insights for women and Black communities.

She is no stranger to grief herself. In 2008, after a lengthy battle, she lost her mother to cancer. Shortly after, she lost her fertility, a pregnancy, and most recently, a cousin to the COVID-19 pandemic. These losses transformed her life and led her to question what healing truly requires outside the limited roadmap often handed to us by societal expectations. In the end, Marisa found that if we can own and honor what we've lost, we can have a beautiful and joyful life amid grief.

In addition to her work in the grief space, Lee is a former appointee in the Obama White House and CEO of Beacon Advisors, a mission-driven consulting firm primarily focused on racial equity. She is a rabble-rouser of social healing: former managing director of My Brother's Keeper Alliance; co-founder of the digital platform Supportal; and founder of The Pink Agenda, a national organization dedicated to raising money for breast cancer care, research, and awareness.

Lee also regularly contributes to The Atlantic, Glamour, Vogue, MSNBC, and CNN and serves as an expert for Ritual's wellbeing app. She is a Harvard graduate and an avid home cook. Marisa lives in the Washington DC area with her husband Matt, their newborn son Bennett, and their dog, Sadie.