Marilyn Morris was born and raised outside Cooktown near Hope Vale where the family property was a pilot site for tropical pasture development in the early 1960s. It later turned to cattle breeding and fattening. Family members also opened up the Cooktown raw milk dairy which serviced Cooktown and surrounds for 30 years before being bought out by a consortium.

Marilyn spent 25 years in remote Western Australia and regional Northern Territory working in aged care and local government community recreation before returning to Cooktown in 2016. She has two adult daughters and a grandson.

In 2020, Marilyn commenced her first term as a local government councillor for Cook Shire.

Linking up regional communities to work and grow together has been a driving force throughout Marilyn's life and says that the charter given to Cape York NRM by the community is a perfect fit.