Kelsey Kramer McGinnis is a writer, musicologist, and educator based in Iowa. She holds a PhD from the University of Iowa.

Kelsey is a regular contributor to Christianity Today, where she writes and reports on worship practices, the music industry, and church culture. She is also an adjunct professor at Grand View University in Des Moines, where she teaches music, theology, and social justice.

She is the co-author of the forthcoming book, The Myth of Good Christian Parenting: How False Promises Failed a Generation of Evangelicals (Brazos press, October 2025).

As as a graduate student and adjunct faculty member at the University of Iowa, she taught a variety of courses on music history, social justice and the arts, and human rights. She served on the staff of the University of Iowa Center for Human Rights from 2010-2019, where she was the academic advisor for undergraduate students pursuing a Certificate in Human Rights. 

Kelsey's dissertation research explored the use of American music and media in the reeducation of German POWs during WWII. Other areas of expertise include contemporary sacred music in the United States, 19th century choral music, Evangelical subcultures, human rights and the arts, and the intersection of art and ecotheology. She is an active presenter at academic conferences and accepts invitations for guest lectures and workshops on her writing and research.