Margaret Cook holds a PhD in history from the University of Queensland. She is a member of the Professional Historians Association, has a significant body of work in environmental and social history and heritage conservation, and has worked in cultural tourism and the museum sector.

Margaret is a former Deputy Chair of the Queensland Heritage Council and Vice President of the National Trust of Queensland and was inducted into the Ipswich Heritage Hall of Fame in 2015. She is currently a consultant historian and an Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Queensland and La Trobe University. Margaret lives in Ipswich with her husband and two sons.