Marissa Benchea lives in South Louisiana with her two cats and collection of plants.  She was diagnosed at birth with CF and attributes being alive to her dedicated parents, incredible clinical teams, her friends and her CF family. Marissa is a patient advocate and is passionate about raising awareness and funds for cystic fibrosis. In 2016, Marissa co-founded BreatheCon with her peers and loves being connected to the online community through virtual events. She has spent the past ten years in two different clinical trials, and her free time is spent with her 5 nieces and nephews, gardening, exercising, and being a cat mom. You can follow Marissa on Instagram @kissoffcf or Twitter @MarissaBenchea.