Kinley was ten when her family settled into New York, a home she grew to love just as much as Virginia, Germany, England, etc. Her father had taken an officer position that allowed him to retire from active duty, while her mother still took on active deployments. As ever, the pair made their marriage and family work with a love and devotion that they shared. It was two years later that their family would tragically change. Her mother had been home for several months, when she and Elizabeth were heading home from a soccer game. Their car was T-boned by another car, killing them instantly. That kind of shock and devastation changes a person at their core, and the same was true for Kinley. For the longest time, she refused to believe it. Even at the funeral, the twelve year old showed very little emotion, rather she just felt in a bit of a trance. It wasn't until her birthday just a month later that she completely crumpled and the grief hit her. It was the oddest thing that it took so long, but it took that amount of time to process the grief that raged within her. Jonathan was not much better with his grief, as he was fielding so much more than Kinley could imagine. Genevieve's parents unfairly placed blame on Jonathan (for reasons Kinley to this day does not understand), and Jonathan was convinced there was something suspicious to the accident. Ultimately the police and the military investigation both turned up that it was exactly that -- an accident, but Jonathan ever had a "bad feeling" that someone had been out to get him or Genevieve. Often times, he'd spiral into his grief and these conspiracy theories would come out. Kinley learned from a young age how to calm her father, and how to keep him from going down that path that helped nobody.

Losing both her mother and sister was never going to be something that Kinley "got over", but it was something she was able to move past. She was able to deal with her grief and learn to live with it, use it as fuel to achieve the kind of life that was stolen from her family. She applied herself in sports (volleyball and softball) and in school (english and history were favorites), and ultimately was granted acceptance to West Point Military Academy. Though her father was a proud service member in the US Army, Kinley felt her decision to join the Army was often split with her desire to serve in the Marines. She went through a lot of back and forth within her own heart, and ultimately submitted papers upon graduation to transfer branches to join the Marines. After graduating at the top of her class, along with glowing recommendations earned from her teachers, she was accepted in the United States Marine Corps. The understanding and grace of her officers are something that to this day, she treasures.

During her time in the Marines, Kinley applied the same tenacity she'd had her entire life to her training. She rose within the ranks, taking on leadership roles and excelling in the tasks she was given. For a long time, she figured that her life would be entirely given to the military, without question. The part she wasn't exactly happy with was being an active service member and a lesbian during the blanket of Don't Ask, Don't Tell. For someone who was proud of who she was (and had a lot of pride in general), and also proud to serve her country, it was a difficult line to walk throughout the entirety of her military career. Somewhere during that time, the work began to wear on her, though Kinley ignored it for as long as she could. She wanted to make her father proud, and honor the memory of her mother. She didn't like the idea of leaving something unfinished, and so she remained within the marines for seven years before she even seriously considered leaving. With one final tour under her belt as a then-Captain, Kinley left service with an honorable discharge from the Marine Corps.

Upon leaving the military, Kinley moved to Boston, but floundered a bit with what direction to take her life. She was dealing with some PTSD from her active duty (though it would take her a long, long time to admit that), and couldn't quite find exactly what she wanted. Her mother (and subsequently her grandparents) had left her an ungodly amount of money upon their deaths, but it was the kind of thing that she didn't like to rely on. Kinley was the kind of person who had always wanted to do things herself, rely on herself, and that went down to the monetary aspect as well. She began to invest the money in charities she believed in, and ultimately created a foundation to honor her mother and sister's memory. Throughout her life, something she'd often been interested in was photography. It wasn't something she'd ever considered as anything more than a hobby, but she had given prints to a friend who opened a coffee shop just to adorn the walls. An editor of a local paper saw her work and wanted to purchase one of her photographs. That experience grew into another, and another, and soon she was interviewing with a portfolio at travel magazines. She was hired and off she went, able to take her wanderlust in a different direction. She always had purpose with the photos she'd take, whether it was social justice, conservation, or anything she believed to be important.