Biography - Marilyn Cooley

Marilyn was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in the mid-1950s, and grew up in a busy suburban household. She was a middle child of four, and there were cats, dogs and canaries as companions. Music was always an important part of life in the Cooley household, and Marilyn eventually earned bachelor's and master's degrees in music. Since 1980, her professional life has consisted mostly of announcing classical music for public radio, first in Cincinnati, then in Baltimore, and now for Classical WETA in Washington, D.C.

In the late 1990s, as a volunteer at the National Zoo in Washington, D.C., Marilyn began to learn much about our connection with animals when working with the great apes and the giant pandas. Then, awakening to Native traditions, she became a devoted student of Native and Aboriginal world views and spirituality.

This combination of influences led Marilyn to recognize a calling to be an animal healer. Drawing on her inborn ability as an emotional empath, and training from Rose Rosetree, Carol Gurney and Penelope Smith, she developed her skill as an interspecies communicator. Later, both Healing Touch for Animals (R) certification and animal massage were included in her training.

Marilyn's lifelong interest in science has made her an enthusiastic proponent of one of the principles of Healing Touch for Animals(R)...to help build a bridge between traditional Western thought and holistic approaches to health care and living. Among her most cherished opportunities is her healing work in a clinical setting at Healthy PAWS Medical Center in Haymarket, Virginia.

Marilyn says, "Today, I feel blessed to have several outlets for offering a healing influence to the world. It's a real privilege to be associated with the power of music, and its beneficial effects on the community through radio. But I feel most at home when interacting with, and helping, those great teachers of the animal kingdom who share our world. I've learned more than I ever imagined possible from these fellow travelers, and it's clear to me that there is much more to come. I'm so grateful for all the beauty that has come my way, in so many forms."

Marilyn lives in the Piedmont of north central Virginia with her husband, and four cats who, with the local wildlife, continue to provide learning opportunities great and small.