Clarissa is currently a lecturer within the Department of Strategic Communication at the University of Johannesburg. She lectures both on undergraduate and postgraduate level in Strategic Communication and supervises postgraduate research studies. She has just completed a PhD study entitled: Corporate sustainability and making meaning of organisational purpose: A case study of South African medical aid service providers. Her current research continues into the fields of sustainability, organisational purpose and the creation of a Shared Value approach. She has presented her work at both national and international conferences.

Clarissa has been extensively involved in corporate training and workshop facilitation for some well-known brands in South Africa. For some of these brands it entailed programme development and accreditation by the Marketing Association of South Africa (MASA), resulting in individuals acquiring chartered marketer status.