UNC Health Care News Team

UNC Health Care’s national reputation for cutting-edge research, quality patient care and excellent training of young professionals generates considerable attention from the news media. All media requests for interviews, filming and information gathering are handled by UNC Health Care’s News Team.

If you are a member of the media call us at 919-966-2860 or 919-966-3367 with your request. On weekends, holidays and after 5 p.m. on week nights, please leave voice mail at 919-966-3367. Leaving voice mail at that number will send a page to our on-call person.

If you need information about Logos/Branding, Event Marketing Guidelines, Publications or Awards Forms for UNC Health Care or the UNC School of Medicine, please see the Public Affairs & Marketing page.

Jennifer James, Director, Medical Center News Office     919-966-7622 office 919-923-7983 mobile E-mail: jjames@unch.unc.edu

Jennifer is the leader of the medical center news team and oversees internal and external communication activities for UNC Health Care. Prior to joining UNC Health Care in late 2010, Jennifer was an account director in at Ogilvy Public Relations in Washington D.C., promoting health and medical research for the NIH and CDC.  Jennifer also previously served as the producer of a weekly television news segment for NBC News Channel in coordination with Johns Hopkins Medicine and Public Health. Jennifer earned a masters degree from the School of Public Health at UNC and has a journalism degree from the University of Oklahoma.

Les Lang, Director, Science Communications     919-966-9366 office 919-923-2563 mobile E-mail: llang@med.unc.edu

Les coordinates publicity and related communications efforts about basic science research conducted by our School of Medicine faculty. He serves on the advisory boards of the UNC Center for Women’s Health Research and the UNC Medical Journalism Graduate Program. Prior to joining UNC in 1998, he reported for Reuters Health. Les was also medical editor for the TV syndicated MED-NIWS (News Information Weekly Service) in Los Angeles and principal writer for LA-based Lifetime Medical Television.

Stephanie Crayton, Media Relations Manager 919-966-2860 office 919-951-4758 mobile E-mail: scrayton@unch.unc.edu

Stephanie is UNC Health Care’s primary media contact person in charge of responding to requests for assistance from the news media. She also conducts media training with UNC faculty and leads UNC Health Care’s outreach to news media. Prior to joining UNC Health Care in 2001, Stephanie was a health reporter at television stations in Raleigh, Winston-Salem, and Washington, D.C. She also worked at CNN in Atlanta. In 2006, Stephanie won an interactive media award from the North Carolina Association of Government Information Officers for the creation of UNC Health Care's Hurricane Katrina Relief Blog, in which UNC physicians and nurses who were deployed to the Gulf Coast wrote about their experiences.

Tom Hughes, Media Relations/Social Media Strategist 919-966-6047 office 919-923-6964 mobile E-mail: tahughes@unch.unc.edu

Tom is UNC Health Care’s lead news writer for all matters except basic science research. His primary role is to write news stories about clinical research and other clinical activities of UNC Health Care. He also serves as website content manager and social media coordinator for the news team and assists Stephanie Crayton with media relations activities. Prior to joining UNC Health Care in 2001, Tom worked as a news writer and copy editor at CNN.com in Atlanta and as a daily newspaper reporter at the Montgomery Advertiser in Montgomery, Ala.  In 2011, Tom won first place in the news release category of the North Carolina Association of Government Information Officers Excellence in Communication Awards. He also won first place in the news writing category in 2005.

Katie O'Brien, Strategic Communications Manager UNC School of Medicine 919-843-3989 office E-mail: katie_obrien@med.unc.edu

Katie manages internal communication for School of Medicine faculty and staff and collaborates with the School of Medicine and UNC Health Care IT groups on website management and initiatives. Katie graduated summa cum laude from the Sally McDonnell Barksdale Honors College at the University of Mississippi. She earned a Masters Degree in Environment, Politics, and Globalization from King's College, University of London, in 2003.

Will Arey, Internal Communications Manager 919-966-0440 office 919-370-1625 mobile E-mail: warey@unch.unc.edu

Since 2006, Will has managed Internal Communications for UNC Health Care and its more than 7,500 employees. Will is a 2005 graduate of UNC and earned his MBA from Elon University in 2009. In 2006, Will won an interactive media award from the North Carolina Association of Government Information Officers (NCAGIO) for the creation of UNC Health Care's Hurricane Katrina Relief Blog. He won a similar award from NCAGIO in 2007 for creating UNC Health Care’s Tobacco-Free Partnership.

Ginger Moore, Internal Communications Specialist     919-962-0168 office 919-923-1228 mobile E-mail: gmoore2@unch.unc.edu

Ginger joined the News Office in August 2009 and focuses primarily on internal communication for both UNC Hospitals and the UNC School of Medicine. Ginger graduated from UNC in 2008 with a degree in Journalism and Mass Communication. Prior to coming to UNC Health Care, she worked at Gibbs & Soell Public Relations in Raleigh, N.C.