A theologian by training, Kiara earned degrees from St. Olaf College (BA, Religion & Women’s Studies, 2002), Denver Seminary (MDiv, 2007) and Luther Seminary (PhD, Theology, 2016). Her research interests include: Protestant ecotheologies, vocation, ecofeminisms, agrarian studies, ecological resistance movements, childhood studies, and the theology of motherwork. She teaches religion courses on ecotheologies, place-based spiritualities, and a smattering of environmental humanities offerings such as Biophilia, Theo-Ethics of Climate Change, and Culture of Nature.

Kiara recently published Ecology of Vocation: Recasting Calling in a New Planetary Era (Fortress/Lexington, 2020) and an edited volume, Ecotheology: A Christian Conversation (Eerdmans, 2020). She has published in a variety of journals on interdisciplinary topics ranging from Jürgen Moltmann's ecological ethics to the vocation of children to Indigenous influence on Christian watershed liturgies. A sampling of her work can be found here. Kiara is currently working on two book projects, an ecotheological constructive reading of Martin Luther's anthropology for the Cascade series "Reconstructions in Lutheran Doctrinal Theology" and a popular work on nature, wonder, and the spiritual questing of children.

Kiara lives on the prairie near Nerstrand's Big Woods with her spouse, young daughters, and an assortment of furry friends. She enjoys historical fiction, gardening, running, hiking, yoga, photography, and fabric arts.