Marisa Scheinfeld was born in Brooklyn, NY in 1980 and raised in the Catskills. She received her B.A. from the State University at Albany in 2002, and her MFA from San Diego State University in 2011. Her work is motivated by an interest in the landscape and its embedded histories, both apparent and hidden. 

Marisa's photographic projects and books are among the collections of the Library of Congress, The New York Public Library, Yeshiva University Museum, The National Yiddish Book Center, The Magnes Collection of Jewish Art & Life at UC Berkeley, The Simon Wiesenthal Center, The International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation and The Edmund and Nancy K. Dubois Library at the Museum of Photographic Arts.

Marisa is a frequent guest lecturer and her photographs have been exhibited widely throughout the United States and in the UK. Her work has appeared in publications such as National Geographic, The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, Slate Magazine, Yahoo Travel, Village Voice, The Jerusalem Post, American Photography, Tablet Magazine and The Jewish Daily Forward.

On October 4, 2016, Cornell University Press released her first book entitled The Borscht Belt: Revisiting the Remains of America's Jewish Vacationland. 

In 2022, Marisa founded the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project, is an initiative that interprets and designates places important to the Borscht Belt era’s vibrant history and considers its impact on American Jewish life, the legacy of the Catskills, Sullivan County history, New York State history and American culture. The Marker Project’s mission is to create an interpretive marker- system and an array of public programming surrounding each marker dedication. A large-scale trail, when complete, it will be inclusive of all the various towns where documented Borscht Belt hotels and bungalow colonies once existed. More than just historic markers, the Borscht Belt Historical Marker Project’s efforts encompass a diverse range of initiatives from film screenings, exhibitions, bus tours, author and literary events, comedy, concerts, curricula for students, and the creation of a self-guided audio driving tour. The project is designed to foster inquiry, promote dialogue, and inspire story-telling and historic awareness while serving to educate citizens and visitors alike about the events that have shaped the region’s past.

Marisa is also an Adjuct Professor of Photography at SUNY Purchase and working on her second book entitled Once Upon A Time.