Maurissa, or M.K. Brown, is a neurodivergent poet, painter, photographer, and environmental justice advocate.

She was born and raised in South Central Los Angeles, but is currently based in Oakland where she actively works through policy to shift decision-making power to communities that are low income or historically redlined in California. Redlining was a practice that began in the mid-1930s and was a cartographic project through which federal and local governments, along with private housing mortgage companies and banks, identified areas if high risk and levels of loans defaults (The Mapping of Race in America). The primary indicator of risk was race. This practice of lack of investment and racial zoning has left many communities, especially black communities, with present-day negative environmental, health, and economic impacts. maurissa has done work at the state to pass more equitable legislature to reduce toxic air pollution in highly impacted communities and worked at the regulatory level with state agencies to increase their programmatic investment for people of color. she is the author of several forward-thinking blogs on equity and climate justice.

Maurissa explores art & writing as a tool of resistance, catalyst for change, and a practice for healing from systems designed for violence. she is alumna of the Community Literature Initiative and continues to cultivate a compassionate, thoughtful community in the Bay Area.