Carissa Johnson moved from New York to North Carolina in 1996 and has spent all but 4 years of the last 3 decades in Cary. Carissa studied Gerontology at Nazareth University and Zoology at NC State University. Carissa also completed basic training and several FEMA CERT courses as a member of the Cary NC chapter of the Community Emergency Response Team.

Carissa is a Senior Product Marketing Manager in the cybersecurity software industry with a special focus on cybersecurity, data security, and IT service management.

Carissa is currently an at-large representative on the Cary Town Council. She was elected in 2022 and is serving her first term. Carissa also serves as the Council liaison to the Senior Advisory Board and the Public Art Advisory Board for the Town of Cary. She served on the Town of Cary Information Services Advisory Board from 2017 to 2021 and as Vice Chair of the Cary 150 Commission from 2018 to 2021.