Lora-Ellen McKinney

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.

Lora-Ellen McKinney has received numerous fellowships and honors. She studied national and international environmental equity policy as a Kellogg National Leadership Fellow, female education and empowerment as a Fulbright Senior Scholars Fellow, potential peace initiates for ongoing conflicts between Israel, Palestine, Gaza,and the West Bank and the conflicts between Serbia, Croatia and Yugoslavia. She was also awarded a Senior Health Policy Fellowship (National Association of Public Hospitals), a Partners in Leadership Fellowship (Harvard Kennedy School of Government), Hugo House Writer's Grant (playwriting and performance grant) and is a member of the Kellogg Foundation Global Fellows Network.