IMPACT Lab Alumni
Cali Werner
Former Doctoral Research Assistant
Cali, LCSW, is an athlete, advocate, and clinician in Houston. Cali's research while obtaining her PhD at Baylor University focuses on competitive athletes with debilitating anxiety that negatively impacts their performance. Cali has her own private practice "Athlete Rising, LLC" where she helps athletes obtain appropriate mental health skills to prevent burnout and decrease anxiety in sport. Specifically, Cali specializes in performance anxiety, OCD, perfectionism, specific phobias, and social anxiety. As a Division I Athlete at Rice University, Cali won 9 conference championships and was named an honorable mention All-American in the 10k. Cali also competed in the U.S. Olympic Trials in 2020. Cali's own OCD diagnosis led her to a career path of providing evidence-based care. Cali hopes to help others with mental illness know that they are not alone, and that appropriate treatment is available to reobtain the joy that mental illness takes away.
Vanessa Tamez Calvo
Former MSW Research Assistant
Vanessa has a special connection to the Baylor IMPACT Research Lab – Houston. She feels that her journey in Dr. Parrish’s lab began by no coincidence. The legacy of Dr. Parrish’s work in California impacted Vanessa as an adolescent. She immediately reached out after having stumbled upon an article about Dr. Parrish’s research at Baylor. Since then, Vanessa has been part of the team and has loved every moment of it.
Vanessa has decided to dedicate her life’s work to fighting systemic racism and oppression in the criminal justice system. She aspires to highlight the various experiences that impact one’s trajectory in life. She is passionate about honorably humanizing people who face life-altering barriers in the courtroom.
When she is not working or studying, you can find her reading, writing, spending time with loved ones, cuddling a cat (any cat she can find), visiting family in California and Mexico, moving her body, and listening to music (banda/Norteño, Indigenous, worship, opera, classical, lo-fi, Christian rap, and R&B).
Vanessa Baltagi
Former MSW Research Assistant
Vanessa is an MSW candidate at Baylor University, living in Houston. She got her Bachelor’s in Psychology from the University of Houston, with a minor in political science. She enjoys working with different populations like children, adolescents, and young adults. She hopes to work for an organization that focuses on policy work, advocacy, and criminal justice reform. She is thrilled to be part of Dr. Parrish's team and to help further her knowledge in the field of social work. In her spare time, she loves to spend time with her family, loves to travel, and try new restaurants.
Jade Rumminger
Former MSW Research Assistant
Jade is an MSW candidate at the Diana R. Garland School of Social Work in Waco, Texas. While she’s not a Waco native, she considers Waco home. She received her Bachelor of Business Administration in Human Resources and Entrepreneurship from Baylor University in 2015. While working in operational roles in long-term care facilities after graduation, she became aware of the many ways social workers impact the experiences of individuals and communities. Jade is curious about program design, story-telling with data, and how the physical environments communities convene in or around influence an equitable built environment. In her free time, Jade enjoys cooking with her spouse, spending time with their two dogs and one cat, tending to her plants and garden, admiring art/design, and collecting vinyl records.