Marisa Birky

Ms. Marisa Birky earned her Bachelor's degree in Graphic Design from Oregon State University in 2005. While working toward graduation, Marisa Birky spent her summers in California, volunteering for the City of Santa Monica Animal Shelter, where she helped care for the animals that were waiting to be adopted. In fact, Marisa Birky cares for animals so much that she eventually adopted several of her own: a young pitt bull named Bowser, a stray tabby cat named Cheez-It, and a three-legged yellow lab named Fenway.

Currently, Marisa Birky is living in San Diego with her pets and is enjoying the freedom of working as a freelance graphic designer. She is still committed to helping animals and is a volunteer for several local animal shelters, including the Humane Society of San Diego. Someday, she hopes to make enough money to buy a couple acres of land so that she can open up her own animal rescue center.

A strict vegetarian (for both ethical and nutritional reasons), Marisa Birky believes in the necessity of keeping fit. However, gyms are not her style and she prefers being out in the elements with activities like surfing and hiking. A native Californian, Marisa Birky can often be found at the beach, soaking up the sun or taking advantage of the many hiking trails that San Diego County has to offer. You can bet that if it is not raining, Marisa is outside getting exercise with her animals.

When not taking advantage of the beautiful California weather, Marisa can be found curled up with a good book. Some of her favorite authors include Jasper Fforde, Jane Austen, Vladimir Nabokov, and Lemony Snicket, and her favorite book of all time is Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird." Additionally, Marisa Birky loves to create recipes, and often serves up delicious vegetarian meals of her own creation to her friends.