Marina was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S. 

After the completion of her studies in the United States and Great Britain, she came to Greece where she taught Social Anthropology in the University of the Aegean for a year. For the next years she taught at Panteion University, Athens, in the department of Social Policy and Social Anthropology and the department of Psychology. At the same time, she started her studies in Person-Centered Counselling.

Until today she teaches from time to time Social Anthropology in Panteion University and elsewhere, but her main interest is Person-Centered Counselling. She works as a Mental Health Consultant and as a trainer/facilitator in the Counselling Department and as a professor in the undergraduate and postgraduate courses of the Department of Psychology in ICPS.

Marina has publicized a series of scientific articles in Social Anthropology. Her research interest is about the interconnection between Counselling and Anthropology. More specifically, ritual practices, gender and identification development, embodiment processes, empathy and methods of understanding others, are her main interests.