Marilyn Barr currently serves as the Founder and Executive Director for the National Center on Shaken Baby Syndrome. She is also the Director of the British Columbia Shaken Baby Syndrome (AHT) Prevention Program in Vancouver, B.C.

She also serves as the works as a Management Consultant to the Intentional Injury Prevention Program, Children's and Women's Health Centre of British Columbia, Vancouver, B.C., Canada.

Marilyn has worked in the field of child abuse prevention since 1978 and has a degree in social work, criminal justice and communications. She developed one of the first prevention programs on SBS/AHT (shaken baby syndrome/abusive head trauma) in the world and has directed seven national conferences and four international conferences on SBS/AHT, as well as fifteen state and national conferences on child abuse and neglect.

Marilyn was the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Child Abuse Prevention Center of Utah (1981-2003), as well as the Founder and President of the Board of Directors, Utah Chapter of the National Committee for the Prevention of Child Abuse (1983-1987). Marilyn has been a psycho-education instructor for adult sex offenders.

Honors and recognition include; the Commissioner's Award for Outstanding Leadership and Service in the Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services), the National Victims Rights Advocate of the Year (United States Justice Department), National Court Appointed Special Advocates; Child Advocate of the Year Award, San Francisco, California, Freedom Foundation, National George Washington Honor Medal for excellence in the category of Individual Achievement.

Marilyn is a co-principal investigator on four studies.

2003 -2006- Randomized controlled trials conducted in Seattle, Washington, called: Testing the Effectiveness of educational materials designed to change knowledge and behaviors regarding crying and shaken baby syndrome in mothers of newborn infants: a randomized controlled trial. Accepted for publication in Pediatrics, July 2008

Authors and Investigators: Barr RG, Rivara FP, Barr M, Cummings P, Taylor J, Lengua LJ, Meredith-Benitz E.

2003-2006 - Vancouver, BC, Randomized controlled trial testing the Period of PURPLE Prevention Program Materials with 1800 mothers.

2007-2011 - Testing the Effectiveness of the Period of PURPLE Crying materials to reduce SBS in British Columbia.

2007-2012 – Testing the Effectiveness of the Period of PURPLE Crying materials to reduce SBS in North Carolina: Keeping Babies Safe in North Carolina.