Jean Fisher Brinkley is NCMB’s Communications Director, a role that involves developing and overseeing production of communications materials and strategies needed to enhance public and professional awareness and understanding of the Board and its mission. She joined NCMB in 2008, after an 11-year career in newspaper journalism, most of it dedicated to reporting on medicine, health policy and the business aspects of health care.

Brinkley earned a bachelor’s degree in English from Mills College in Oakland, CA, and a master’s degree in journalism from the University of California, Berkeley. She lives in Raleigh with her husband and two daughters.

You can reach Jean at podcast@ncmedboard.org

Dr. Molly Berkoff is a pediatrician board-certified in general and child abuse pediatrics. She is dually employed with UNC School of Medicine and Wake County Health and Human Services. At UNC, she is the section head of child maltreatment. At Wake County, she is the medical director for the children’s health and development program and oversees the well-being needs of children entering foster care. Dr. Berkoff has worked as a medical consultant for families involved with child welfare for 18 years.

Melinda Manning, JD, MSW is the director of UNC Hospital’s Beacon program. She coordinates a multidisciplinary team that works with patients and hospital employees experiencing child abuse, domestic violence, sexual assault, vulnerable adult abuse, and human trafficking. She is the former chair of the Board of Directors for the North Carolina Coalition Against Sexual Assault and teaches at the UNC School of Social Work. She’s presented at numerous national and international conferences about intimate partner violence, Title IX, ethics, and victim advocacy. Melinda has consulted with colleges and universities on how to improve services for survivors and was featured in the documentary, “The Hunting Ground.”

Karen Burke-Haynes, MD, is Chief Medical Officer for the North Carolina Medical Board. Dr. Haynes, a pediatrician, has more than 25 years of experience working in academic and private practice settings. Prior to joining NCMB as its Assistant Medical Director in 2014, she was owner and managing physician of Stepping Stones Pediatrics in Raleigh. Dr. Haynes earned her medical degree from the University of Rochester School of Medicine and Dentistry and completed postgraduate training in pediatrics at Strong Memorial Hospital in Rochester. She is certified by the American Board of Pediatrics.