Libby's Bio


Elizabeth was born in Cherry Hill NJ to her parents, James and Virginia. Friends and family have called her Libby since she was very little. She lived in Pennsauken, NJ with her parents and sister until she graduated from 8th grade from a Catholic school.  She moved with her family to Erial, NJ and went to high school in Blackwood, NJ.  She attended Temple University in Philadelphia, PA for one year with the goal of going to nursing school. She did not do very well academically that first year and she took some time off to decide what career she wanted.  Libby attended Camden County College in Blackwood, NJ to pursue her lifelong dream of being a teacher. While taking classes, Libby took a job as a preschool teacher where she worked until graduation. With her associates degree in hand, Libby left her job and entered Rutgers University in Camden NJ as a French Major in the Secondary Education Teacher Certification track. A mere two semesters from graduation, she decided to forgo the Bachelor's degree because she missed the preschool age children, so she left school and got a job teaching in a preschool. The preschool industry is a low-paying career that doesn't require a higher education other than a high school diploma. Instead of going for the stability and benefits of a public school teacher, Libby devoted her career to reaching children ages 3, 4, and 5. During this time she met her future husband, Michael Mahoney, and when they married in 2001 they moved to Northeast Florida.

Libby continued to pursue her career as a preschool teacher in Jacksonville. Libby taught preschool ages three and four at Calvary Christian Jr Academy for 6 years. She took continuing education courses and attended FSCJ to become certified to teach VPK. Libby was a key proponent for implementing VPK at her school and assisted the director in establishing the program at the school. Libby wrote curriculum guidelines for the VPK program and the 3's program using the Florida State VPK Standards and her extensive knowledge and experience from teaching. During this time, Libby birthed four children and worked until her youngest was six months old. The cost of childcare was too much for the humble income of a preschool teacher and Libby said goodbye to her career and became a stay-at-home mom. The time and freedom gained by staying at home gave Libby the chance to focus on her passion of cooking. She was suffering from an allergy to soy and she began to teach herself how to make everything from scratch. She got the idea to write a book since she was creating so many new recipes and in marketing herself she began a twitter account (@libmahoney) and this blog to talk about the things she was learning.

Libby got involved in raising awareness about human trafficking after hearing Christine Caine, founder of The A21 Campaign, speak about the shelter they had built and the girls they were rescuing from sex trafficking. Libby was moved by these testimonies and desired to use her passion for cooking to do more than just write a book. She founded The Cooking Activist Company in 2010.  She used organic and fair trade ingredients in her baked goods to show her community of Northeast Florida how consumers can affect the world around them by purchasing ethically made products. She was selling her baked goods at a local farmers market, The St Johns River Farmers Market in Fruit Cove, Florida. The bakery and personal chef portion of the company is now closed.  Libby will be pursuing her writing career while raising awareness about human trafficking.   Libby desires to be a speaker, writer, and teacher to help others live healthy God-first lifestyles.

Libby is a member of Celebration Church of Jacksonville, Florida where she is a leader in the women's ministry, Celebration Sisterhood.  Her passion is to see women break free from objectification in society to live a  life of freedom through a relationship with Jesus Christ.  

To contact Libby for more information please email her at: thecookingactivist@gmail.com