Kim Kastens, Ph.D., has a bachelor's degree in geology and geophysics from Yale University and a Ph.D. in oceanography from Scripps Institution of Oceanography. Her training and early career were in marine geology, and she lead or participated in 24 oceanographic research cruises during that era.

For the past 10 years, Kastens has focused her professional efforts towards creating a citizenry that knows more, understands more, and cares more about the Earth and environment. Her current research concerns spatial thinking in geosciences.

Kastens founded and co-directs Columbia University's Earth & Environmental Science Journalism Program, a collaboration between Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory and the Graduate School of Journalism. She is principal investigator of a NSF grant to increase diversity in environmental journalism, in collaboration with the Society of Environmental Journalists and several minority journalists' professional societies.