HUSSMAN - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director
- Assistant Director of Development
Alexandra Myers began working as the assistant director of development in July 2023. She is a UNC 2023 graduate, with a B.A in media and journalism (advertising/PR) and a B.A. in political science. She previously worked as the UNC Hussman Development and Alumni Relations office assistant from 2020 to 2023, and also interned as a public relations intern at Qorvis Communications in Washington, D.C. She is a proud Hussman graduate and is excited to be back in Chapel Hill.
Education
B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Graduate Program Coordinator
- Office of Graduate Studies As the Graduate Program Coordinator
Ann Schmitt joined the Office of Graduate Studies as the graduate program coordinator in September 2018. She supports graduate students and staff with a variety of day-to-day needs, and serves as a liaison between the programs and the Graduate School. Prior to coming to UNC, Schmitt worked at the Graduate College at Bowling Green State University, and she enjoys supporting graduate students in their studies and research. Her favorite part about working in higher education is hearing about student/faculty research interests and current projects.
Schmitt earned a B.S. in education of world languages (Spanish) in 2013 and an M.A. in cross-cultural and international education in 2017, both from Bowling Green State University.
Education
M.A., Bowling Green State University
B.S., Bowling Green State University
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Job Titles:
- ABIDE Program Coordinator
Job Titles:
- CAPS Embedded Counselor
- Counselor for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism
Carolyn Ebeling is the CAPS embedded counselor for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. They received a bachelor's degree in English from UNC and a master's of social work from UNC's School of Social Work. Their professional interests include working with issues surrounding the LGBTQIA+ community, family of origin challenges, relationships and life transitions, among many others. Ebeling strives to create a warm and non-judgmental space for students to explore their thoughts and feelings. Ebeling is passionate about anti-racist and anti-oppressive practices and believes that intersectional identities are an essential part of therapeutic work. Their work is informed by dialectical behavioral therapy (DBT), cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), strengths-based and trauma-informed practices. Ebeling wrote for The Daily Tar Heel during their time as an undergraduate student and loved the experience.
Education
B.A., UNC; M.S.W., UNC Chapel Hill
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, Graduate Studies
Job Titles:
- Director of Annual Giving
- Director of Annual Giving & Alumni Affairs
Cherelle Harris serves as director of annual giving and alumni affairs at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, bringing a background of project management as well as outreach and engagement into the role.
Partnering with Associate Dean of Development and Alumni Affairs Danita Morgan, as well as the rest of Hussman's development team, she builds and sustains internal relationships across the school, and external relationships with alumni, donors, prospects and volunteers. She collaborates with colleagues to advance the philanthropic goals of the school, promotes best practices for fiscal sustainability and reporting, ideates on funding opportunities that meet donors' needs and institutional goals, and communicates the critical need for philanthropic support through impactful storytelling.
Previously, she served Carolina's development efforts as the principal gifts coordinator, campaign project manager and associate director of campaign engagement.
Education
B.A., Fayetteville State University
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Undergraduate Hub Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Communications and Marketing Strategist
- Communications and Marketing Strategist for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism
Crystal Wu has served as the communications and marketing strategist for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media since 2023.
Prior to this position, Wu held the role of marketing and development communications manager for UNC's Arts Everywhere where she worked closely with campus leaders, partners, faculty, staff, students and community members to support the creation and amplification of art at all levels across the campus and the community.
A proud Tar Heel, Wu earned her bachelor's degree in piano performance from UNC where she was a recipient of the prestigious Kenan Music Scholarship. She received her master's and doctorate in piano performance and piano pedagogy from the University of Georgia.
Wu is also honored to serve as a board member for the Orange County Arts Commission. In her free time, she maintains a private piano studio and continues to perform as a soloist and collaborative artist.
Education
B.M., UNC-Chapel Hill; M.M., University of Georgia; D.M.A., University of Georgia
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Associate Dean for Development
- Associate Dean for Development and Alumni Affairs
Danita Morgan serves as associate dean for development and alumni affairs at the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Serving as the school's chief fundraising officer, she is responsible for leading a comprehensive philanthropic program, strengthening a dynamic team of fundraising professionals, and managing the school's boards - to ensure the school has the private funds so vital to its mission and operations.
Morgan returns to the school as an alumna and lifelong volunteer. She graduated from the school in 1981 with a B.A. in journalism and mass communication, and more recently added a certificate in technology and communication from the school. She has served on the Hussman School Alumni Board for more than a decade, and prior to that was president of the Wake County Carolina Alumni Club. She brings a wealth of relationships with faculty, staff, alumni and donors and an incredible passion for the school and its mission.
Morgan's 30-year development career has been devoted to raising funds to advance the missions of important causes. Most recently, Morgan served as director of development for major gifts at the UNC Lineberger Comprehensive Cancer Center. Prior to joining Lineberger in 2018, she served for six years as vice president of development and communications for Habitat for Humanity of Wake County, the second largest Habitat affiliate in the U.S. There, she led the development and communications teams, raising over $4 million annually. She has also served as development director at the Urban Ministries of Wake County, the Wildacres Leadership Initiative, Prevent Blindness North Carolina and SAFEchild. She has been the International Missions Director for the White Memorial Presbyterian Church and a nonprofit consultant. She launched her development career as membership director and then development director at the NC Center for Public Policy Research.
Education
B.A., Certificate in Technology and Communication, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Human Resources Consultant
Job Titles:
- Local News Researcher for the Center for Innovation
Elizabeth Thompson is a Local News Researcher for the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media.
Thompson is a UNC alumna who has worked as a reporter for outlets such as Raleigh's The News & Observer, The Dallas Morning News and North Carolina Health News. She was a 2022 USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism Data Fellow.
Education
B.A., University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability
- Director, Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media
Erica Beshears Perel is the director of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. She graduated from the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 1998 and worked in local news for about 10 years before returning to campus to work on the professional staff at The Daily Tar Heel, UNC's independent student newspaper.
Education
B.A., UNC
Job Titles:
- Broadcast & Emerging Media Engineer
Biography
Kirk started his career in broadcasting in 1996 as a part-time master control room operator and assistant engineer at WVSX, a start-up FOX station that gave him the opportunity to learn the industry from the ground up. After six months, he was promoted to chief engineer and oversaw the daily maintenance and operations for the station. He left in 2001 for WFXR/WJPR in Roanoke, Vairginia, to design and build a CW network control room. Later that year, he was contacted by Concord University in Athens, West Virginia, to help design and build a new, all-digital television studio for its Center for Academic Technologies.
In 2003, Gary was recruited back to WVSX - now WVNS - to do a ground-up build of the station to include a cutting-edge control room and live news department. Then, he helped the station grow its news product and improve the technology to include a completely high definition control room and a tapeless news room to pave the way for a 2013 launch of high definition newscasts.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director
- Assistant Director of Career Services
Heather Stevenson has been serving as assistant director in career services since May 2022. Stevenson works with Jay Eubank in the Undergraduate Hub. She helps undergraduate and graduate students with many things from working on resumes and cover letters to applying for internships. Stevenson is also instrumental in assisting students in finding mentors and making connections with alumni of UNC Hussman. Before her time in career services, Stevenson served as an adjunct instructor. She taught students the art of digital storytelling from 2016 to 2022.
Stevenson is a proud graduate of the journalism school. After graduation, she worked at WLOS in Asheville, North Carolina, and WECT in Wilmington, North Carolina. She won several regional awards for her time as an education reporter. After leaving television news, she taught television broadcasting to high school students.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director of Global, Immersive and Professional Programs
Hui Yang joined the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in October 2022, working as the assistant director of Global, Immersive and Professional Programs. Before joining UNC Hussman, she had been working at the University of the South Pacific in Fiji for six years, where she was responsible for operating the Chinese Program. Before that, she was an associate professor in the School of Humanities at Beijing University of Posts and Telecommunications, where her research focused on genre analysis and cross culture communication.
Education
B.A. Shenyang Normal University; M.A. China University of Mining and Technology (Beijing); Ph.D. Tsinghua University
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Events Coordinator
- Events Coordinator for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism
James Herrighty serves as the events coordinator for the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media, joining the staff in 2023. He is dedicated to event logistics and creating welcoming and inclusive spaces.
Job Titles:
- Director of Career Services
Jay Eubank joined the school's staff in 1996 as director of career services. Eubank works with undergraduate and graduate students on a range of career-related topics. He works closely with current students on identifying and landing internships and with graduating students on obtaining entry-level jobs.
Before coming to Carolina, Eubank worked as a newspaper reporter from 1987-96. His first full-time reporting job was with the Jackson Daily News in Jackson, Mississippi, where he covered local government. The afternoon Daily News eventually merged with The Clarion-Ledger, a morning newspaper, and Eubank worked the education beat, covering all facets of education from kindergarten to higher education. Later he was named a statewide political correspondent and covered politics in Mississippi, including the governor and the Mississippi legislature. He also participated in the Gannett-sponsored loaner program in which reporters and editors from Gannett newspapers temporarily worked at USA Today or USA Weekend. Eubank worked for USA Weekend, one of the largest Sunday newspaper inserts.
From Mississippi, Eubank moved eastward in 1993. He worked for the News & Record in Greensboro, North Carolina, as its Raleigh correspondent, covering all parts of North Carolina state government, including the N.C. General Assembly.
Education
B.A., Baylor University
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Stewardship and Donor Relations Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Equipment and Library Asset Manager
Job Titles:
- Director of Communications
Job Titles:
- Executive Assistant to the Dean
Job Titles:
- Director of Global, Immersive and Professional Programs
Liana Pinner joined the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media in 2016 in order to provide support for the global programs, as well as any of the numerous activities that enrich the students' education at UNC Hussman.
Prior to joining the staff at UNC, she worked at a large nonprofit as a youth development specialist. She has also spent time teaching English in France and working at a residential treatment center.
Job Titles:
- Assistant Dean of Business and Finance
Job Titles:
- Information & Technology Manager
Job Titles:
- Director, North Carolina Scholastic Media Association
Job Titles:
- Assistant Director, UNC Blue Sky Innovations
Natalie Viernes joined the Reese Innovation Lab in April 2022. In her free time, she enjoys spending time with her husband and two puppies (Louie and Royce), exploring new areas, and hosting game nights with friends.
Education
M.A., Appalachian State University; B.A., Emmanuel College
Contact the school
UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media
Carroll Hall, CB 3365
Chapel Hill, NC 27599
Job Titles:
- Program Coordinator of the Center for Innovation
- Program Coordinator, Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media
Sarah Vassello is the program coordinator of the Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Local Media. She is a 2017 graduate of the UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media. Prior to returning to UNC, she worked for the Institute for Nonprofit News, which serves over 300 nonprofit news organizations across North America.
Job Titles:
- Director, Student Services and Assessment
Job Titles:
- Senior Director of Undergraduate Program
Job Titles:
- Student Services Assistant