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

Molly Calabria, MPAP, PA-C practices Family Medicine in Durham and is a 2014 graduate of the Campbell University Physician Assistant Program. She completed her undergraduate work at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, with a Bachelor of Music and a chemistry minor. Working in primary care allows Mrs. Calabria both to practice preventive medicine and to manage the ongoing care of patients with complex issues. Before PA school, Molly worked in various roles, including as a health educator at Children’s National Medical Center and as a Research Associate in HIV prevention and oncology at UNC.

Her passion for advocating on behalf of North Carolina’s PAs led her to serve in various leadership roles with the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants. Mrs. Calabria was elected to serve as NCAPA’s President-Elect in 2021, stepping into the Presidency in 2022. Molly loves sharing her passion for advocacy with others, including PA students. 

Margaret (Meg) Beal, MMS, PA-C, is a physician assistant practicing Internal Medicine at the University of North Carolina. She is also a founding faculty member of the UNC-CH PA Program, where she has worked since 2015.  Meg is a graduate of Duke University with a BS in psychology and held a position at the National Institutes of Health in clinical research and served as a care assistant in the UNC Internal Medicine Clinic prior to graduating from Wake Forest University School of Medicine’s PA Program. Prior to her role in PA education at UNC, she worked for several years at a patient-centered medical home practice that was a joint venture between UNC-CH and Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina, focusing on chronic disease population management, and utilizing a multi-disciplinary team-based approach to care. She enjoys working in education, promoting an understanding of the role of PAs in primary care teams, and providing interprofessional learning opportunities to optimize future collaborative practice. Clinically, Meg enjoys the breadth of internal medicine, the joys and challenges in chronic disease management, and the continuity of care inherent in providing adult primary care. Through her work with students and volunteering through the North Carolina Academy of Physician Assistants (NCAPA), Meg is inspired by the bright future of the PA profession.