Kate McFarland holds a BS in Mathematics, MS in Statistics and PhD in Philosophy (with a focus on pragmatics and philosophy of language) from Ohio State University, which she completed just for fun before leaving academia to spend a few years as a freelance writer, most notably as the lead news writer for the Basic Income Earth Network. In 2019, Kate returned to Ohio State to accept an invitation to join the university's Center for Ethics and Human Values (CEHV) as its Associate Director. Three years later, she downshifted into an administrative associate role at CEHV, giving her more time and energy to work for the rewilding movement, as well as returning to writing and philosophising on a purely recreational basis. Her present philosophical interests encompass ecocentric ethics and the moral foundations of rewilding.

Kate has also been active in the dark-sky movement and bird conservation, having served on the boards of the Ohio chapter of the International Dark-Sky Association and the Columbus Audubon chapter. She has also been an occasional bird collision monitor for Ohio Lights Out. Additionally, Kate has spent some time living abroad to experiment with her long-standing dream of car-free, active-transportation-based rural living. Her experiences in Europe would become very influential in the development of her thinking about conservation ethics and rewilding discourse.