Her work appears in many outlets, including the New York Times, TIME, The Financial Times magazine, and on NPR. She has received several writing awards and journalism fellowships and has been recognized by the American Association of Sunday and Feature Editors and the Society of Professional Journalists. Kakissis has traveled extensively in Greece and has strong ancestral connections to Kyparissia in the western Peloponnese and Rethymnon in central Crete.