Kinnord grew up in Cleveland, Ohio. She completed her BFA at Massachusetts College of Art in Boston, and received her MFA from Ohio State University in Columbus. In 1995 she moved to New Orleans, LA where she met one of her mentors, John T. Scott and became Associated Professor of Art at Xavier University of Louisiana. Using ceramic sculptural forms resembling mud huts of Ghana, Kinnord’s work is about ancestral memory. She has found inspiration in architecture; exploring exteriors and interiors through clay and surface treatment. Her work has been exhibited internationally.