Tim Leary was born in suburban New Jersey in 1953 to a traditional homemaker mother, Evelyn, and a popular local politician father, Howard. He is the middle child of a typical Irish-American family of 5 children. His parent's choice for his name would predispose him to a natural curiosity for life, and so he became an artist and designer, an explorer of creativity and spirituality, and a student of attitudes toward sexuality.

Tim first studied art and developed an interest in painting and interior design at Seminole Community College in the mid 70's. He integrated his interest in art and design into a career in visual merchandising offering Tim a variety of venues to employ his design skills. As a visual merchandiser he designed and installed window and interior displays from conception to completion at such places as Walt Disney World, Yale University and some of the largest retail department stores in the United States. In this work he learned about what is visually appealing.

In the early 1990's, as Tim's spiritual life deepened, his work as a visual merchandiser began to feel stagnant. He felt that as an artist he had more to give. His work needed to exist for itself, not only as a vehicle for retail sales. He sought ways for his work life and spiritual life to intersect. This quest brought Tim to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1992 to study at Holy Names College in Oakland, California. In 1994 he earned a Master's degree in Culture and Spirituality.

In the years that have followed Tim has become an educator and art therapist. In 2002 he earned a Post-Master's Certificate in Art Therapy at U.C. Berkeley Extension. Today he teaches students the arts of visual merchandising and interior design at the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in San Francisco. His work as an art therapist and art educator continues to evolve.

Tim has also taught courses and given lectures on visual merchandising, sexuality and spirituality. Schools and organizations where he has taught or lectured include: Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising, San Francisco; Seminole Community College, Sanford, FL; Parson's School of Design, New York; Holy Names College, Oakland, CA; First Unitarian Church, Berkeley, CA; College Stores of New England, N.E. Convention and Dignity/USA, National Convention.