Laura McCallister is communicator and storyteller who has worked in a variety of environments where she can utilize her skills to engage, entertain, inform, and explore.

Laura is a native of Lincoln, NE, where she got her bachelor’s degree in journalism from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. She started her career working at local television stations: first in various roles at KOLN/KGIN in Lincoln and then as a multimedia web producer for KCTV in Kansas City.

Laura served as the digital content specialist for the Kansas City Public Library where she managed the non-profit’s social media, contributed to writing, editing, and photos on the library’s website, and coordinated initiatives with fellow members of the library’s Public Affairs department. Some of her favorite initiatives/events she was a part of include sharing information about the library and its services with the goal of passing a Library Levy measure that was on the November 2018 ballot (the measure passed with resounding positive results) as well as hosting a wide range of speakers, from the hosts of Queer Eye on Netflix to former United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith.

In her current role at Children’s Mercy, Laura develops strategy and content to promote research outreach and advance the Children’s Mercy Research Institute’s (CMRI’s) mission. She manages the CMRI’s social media, coordinates research website updates for both an internal and external audience and is involved in the creation of the CMRI’s annual report.