McKenzie earned a master’s degree from the UC Santa Cruz Science Communication Program. Prior to her graduate studies, she worked at the Dialogue on Science, Ethics and Religion program of the American Association for the Advancement of Science and was the volunteer magazine editor for Art the Science. She has a background in scientific research, having studied adolescent nicotine dependence at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in neuroscience and a minor in bioethics from the University of Virginia.