During a career that spanned over half a century, Kinne held positions of director of photo and film at the National Audubon Society, vice president of Comstock and president of Photo Researchers. She was also active in numerous industry groups. At the time of her death, she was the legal chairperson for both the American Society of Picture Professionals and PACA, and the director of development for the Infinity Foundation of the North American Nature Photography Association.

In addition to becoming the accepted matriarch of the stock-photography industry, Kinne became one of America's leading experts in copyright issues, image-reproduction rights and media law. She testified in over 125 copyright cases and had worked on the Committee for Fair Use and the New Technologies for the U.S. Copyright Office in the mid-1990s. She also spearheaded the development of copyright-education programs and helped develop the standards of image use that now form the basis of stock licensing.

Nancy Wolff, an intellectual property attorney well-known in the industry, credits her choice of career to a meeting with Kinne 20 years ago. Wolff's presentation on image-copyright law is a key component of the program that PACA has renamed in Kinne's honor.