Kimberly Baling

Graduate Fellow Kimberly Baling’s primary role is leading in the creation and development of the Social Work Innovation Lab. As needed, she assists with other initiatives, including last year’s strategic planning effort and the Beyond 2025 Action Hub, where she is providing support with organizing affinity groups, data management, and toolkit development.

Kimberly began working in the field of behavioral health in 2019 as a psychiatric technician at a subacute inpatient facility for children and adolescents coping with mental health crises. From there, she became a skills trainer in community-based services, providing support that helped people more effectively manage the distressing symptoms of mental health challenges.

Kimberly also served as a mental health worker for an organization providing residential case management services to individuals living with serious mental illness. As part of a Community Mental Health Center grant, she helped design and execute her care navigator role, created to help bridge gaps in access to resources and services for three target populations of the grant.

During her graduate program, Kimberly completed her foundation- and advanced-year internship with the Department of Mental Health (DMH), where she worked with individuals experiencing homelessness and completed assessments for newly approved DMH clients.

Kimberly holds a Bachelor of Science degree in psychology with a minor in business foundations from the University of Houston and an Associate of Arts degree from Houston Community College. She is currently pursuing a Master of Social Work/Master of Public Health dual degree at Boston University.