Marilyn Pipes is a graduate of Northeastern University and the University of Arizona. Licensed as a speech-language pathologist for the past 38 years, she has worked in a variety of settings, including acute care, the University of Arizona, a rehabilitation hospital, and skilled nursing facilities. Her clinical work in recent years has focused on working with individuals with dementia, mild cognitive impairment, and progressive neurological impairments. Marilyn maintains her Certificate of Clinical Competence from the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA).

During her career, Marilyn maintained an interest in the provision of services to minority populations. While serving as a faculty member at the Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences at the University of Arizona, she was an invited speaker at various regional and national conferences on topics pertinent to recruitment and retention of Native American students, service delivery to Native Americans, and multicultural professional education. She co-authored an article that describes a cross-cultural approach to educational programs in speech-language pathology and audiology and co-authored a chapter that describes the recruitment and retention of Native American university students.

Marilyn enjoys walking, hiking, travel, and bicycling. At an early age, she studied all forms of dance and developed a love for ballet in particular, performing throughout her adult years. In addition to her practice as a speech-language pathologist, Marilyn instructed ballet and choreographed at several dance studios for over twenty years.