Before coming to Whitefield, she worked as a preschool teacher at the Florida State University Child Development Center and the University of North Florida Child Development Center. McKinney was also a staff member with Campus Crusade for Christ (CRU) for eleven years. CRU is an international organization which ministers to students in colleges and universities across the United States and abroad. McKinney served as a CRU staff member at at the University of Georgia and on several other metro-Atlanta campuses. She discipled young college women and served as a mentor to students. McKinney graduated from Florida State University with a Bachelor of Science in Child Development.