Marissa Barrera is a system-impacted advocate and independent investigative journalist focused on evidence, impacted voices, and public accountability. Her work bridges lived experience and documentation—turning public records and impacted testimony into clear accountability narratives.

A mother first, Marissa balances family life with public-interest work rooted in documentation and community accountability. Years before her reporting reached public platforms, she served as a CASA youth advocate, supporting children navigating the court system—an early foundation for her trauma-aware, people-centered approach. After her brother, Michael Barrera, was killed by police with no criminal accountability, Marissa’s work expanded into sustained, records-informed reporting and public documentation that challenges official narratives and exposes patterns of harm.

Marissa founded Voices of Strength, a legacy initiative created to amplify impacted families through interviews, documentation, and community-driven storytelling—work that helped shape the foundation of her ongoing reporting and advocacy. She has supported and contributed to multiple statewide accountability and community-protection policy efforts in California. Marissa also has a professional background in fitness and remains an active personal trainer, viewing strength and discipline as part of sustaining long-term work. Her public-interest work has drawn retaliation on multiple levels; a recent criminal case was dismissed under First and Fourteenth Amendment protections.

Marissa believes the record matters, and impacted communities deserve power backed by evidence.