Mary Margaret Callahan has a MS in Technology Education from Lesley University and is the Chief Mission Officer for PetPartners, where she is responsible for leading mission delivery including the therapy animal program and grassroots advocacy program. Pet Partners is the leader in improving human health and well-being through the human-animal bond. Registering nine species of animals with their human handlers as therapy animal teams, Pet Partners teams make more than 3 million visits per year in hospitals, nursing homes, schools, libraries, airports and at employee wellness events. Pet Partners also advocates for legislation that promotes human health and well-being through its grassroots advocacy program and educates handlers and the public about the positive impact of animal-assisted interventions (AAI). Founded in 1977 and grounded in the underlying research of AAI, Pet Partners is the gold standard in therapy animal visitation and is widely credited with expanding the field of AAI. The daughter of a veterinarian, Mary Margaret grew up surrounded by pets and has a deep appreciation for the strength of the human-animal bond. She joined Pet Partners in 2013 and has worked to establish the organization as both an influencer and a resource within the animal-assisted intervention (AAI) and human-animal bond (HAB) community. In 2018 she was named one of PetAge Magazine’s Women of Influence. Mary Margaret lives on a small farm outside Seattle with her husband, daughter and menagerie of animals including dogs, cats, chickens, goats and miniature donkeys.
