Shepherd earned a B.Sc. (Hon) in 1992 with a thesis entitled "Faecal Analysis of Mammalian Herbivores in the Perup Forest, Western Australia." and a Ph.D. ("Systematic Analysis of the Australian Salicornioideae (Chenopodiaceae)" in 2005, both from the University of Western Australia.[3][4]
From 2004 to 2005 she was a research scientist with the University of Western Australia and Botanic Gardens and Parks Authority. In 2006 she was a post doctoral researcher at the UK Millennium Seed Bank, working on seed dormancy on Australian species with undifferentiated species. From 2006 to 2009, she was a research scientist with the Western Australian Herbarium, where, since September 2009, she has been working as a senior research scientist.[3]
Shepherd, Kelly A.; Wilson, Paul G. (2007). "Incorporation of the Australian genera Halosarcia, Pachycornia, Sclerostegia and Tegicornia into Tecticornia (Salicornioideae, Chenopodiaceae)". Australian Systematic Botany. 20 (4): 319. doi:10.1071/SB07002. ISSN1030-1887.
Shepherd, K.A.; Thiele, K.R.; Sampson, J.; Coates, D.; Byrne, M. (2015). "A rare, new species of Atriplex (Chenopodiaceae) comprising two genetically distinct but morphologically cryptic populations in arid Western Australia: implications for taxonomy and conservation". Australian Systematic Botany. 28 (4): 234. doi:10.1071/SB15029. ISSN1030-1887. S2CID85903596.