Dr. Lora-Ellen McKinney is complex woman who brings multiple skill sets and interests to her writing. She is a pediatric psychologist, public health practitioner, policy analyst, writer (fiction and nonfiction for children and adults; screenwriter, playwright, newspaper articles and opinion pieces), poet, songwriter, dancer, former actor and modern dancer. She often collaborates with other artists to produce new forms of art. She began a nonprofit organization - Cedar River Creative Productions - to support these collective efforts and house her own work. With a partner, she also founded Knitting in Solidarity, a nonpartisan collective of knitters and textile artists who create shawls of healing that are sent to the survivor communities of mass gun shootings.

She has written books on the needs of children who were prenatally exposed to alcohol and other drugs, and African American Baptist faith and practice. As a psychologist, Dr. McKinney has written government monographs on pediatric mental health issues, parental needs of medically vulnerable children, and community health.