Clarissa Corliss, P.E., known as Cissa, is a Brazilian and American citizen, being born in College Station, TX, but growing up with her family in Belo Horizonte, Brazil. She is a fluent Portuguese speaker and loves to go back to Brazil, visit family and friends and enjoy all the delicious food!

Cissa moved back to the US in 2014 and joined University of Houston as a transfer student in 2016. She graduated from the Cullen College of Engineering in 2018 with a BS degree in Civil Engineering and received her Professional Engineering license March 2023. Clarissa’s engineering career experience has been primarily in the transportation industry, having worked in multiple municipal and TxDOT projects. Currently, she works for WSB as a project engineer and participates in client development and project management roles.

As an undergrad, Cissa’s favorite moments were those where her friends were around. She is also happy to have met great Professors who inspired her to be where she is today. Now as an alum, she tries to get involved in different student events and hopes that she can inspire and help open doors to other UH students.

One of Cissa’s passions is to volunteer in professional associations, she serves as the E-Week chair and 2024 President of UH Engineering Alumni Association, co-chair of Student Chapter at WTS-Houston and chair of ‘Roadeo’ Equipment at TX-Southeast APWA. She also serves in the Golf Tournament committee for North Houston Association (NHA).

Cissa has recently married Layne Corliss, whom she met through mutual friends, in an intimate and small wedding at Regua, Portugal. They have two dogs, Nate and Lola, which they love very much. They both share a passion for Japanese food and making fun of each other.