Patrick Norton

Director of Public Affairs

Holly Auer

Assistant Director, Strategic Communications

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 349-5659
Fax (215) 349-8312
holly.auer@uphs.upenn.edu

Holly came to Penn Medicine in 2007 following six years as a newspaper health care reporter. She has worked for The Buffalo News, The Post & Courier in Charleston, S.C. and the Scripps Howard News Service in Washington, D.C., and has freelanced for magazines including Glamour, Self and Prevention. She is the recipient of numerous national and statewide awards for her writing and editing. She is a graduate of Syracuse University, where she majored in magazine journalism, and she earned a master’s degree in bioethics at Penn in December of 2009.

Olivia Fermano

Senior Medical Communications Officer

303 S. 8th Street, 2nd Floor
Philadelphia, PA 19107
(215) 829-6799
Fax (215) 349-8312
olivia.fermano@uphs.upenn.edu

Olivia earned a BA in Communications from Glassboro State College (now Rowan University) and has a total of over 20 years experience in health care public relations. Before specializing in media relations, she worked in hospital and health system marketing communications. She also has experience in print and broadcast advertising, media buying, publication feature writing, fundraising and special events, community relations, and employee communications.

Kim Menard

Senior Medical Communications Officer

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-6183
Fax (215) 349-8312
kim.menard@uphs.upenn.edu

Kim joined Penn Medicine following nearly four years in the healthcare practice of a leading public relations agency in Chicago, where she specialized in a range of therapeutic areas, including oncology, hematology, neurology, infectious diseases and pediatric obesity. She has broad experience in media, social media and advocacy relations and led medical communications surrounding numerous data publications, medical meeting presentations and regulatory announcements. Kim is a graduate of Northwestern University where she received a Bachelor of Science in Radio/Television/ Film and Communication Studies.

Karen Kreeger

Senior Science Communications Manager

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 349-5658
Fax (215) 349-8312
karen.kreeger@uphs.upenn.edu

Karen is responsible for disseminating information about the discoveries from the basic science departments within the School of Medicine, which includes cancer biology, cell & developmental biology, biological aspects of infectious diseases, neurosciences, pathology and laboratory medicine, and pharmacology, among other duties. Karen previously held this position in the late 1990s.

Karen has held positions in both public affairs and science and medical writing. She was senior editor at The Scientist, as well as maintained a freelance communications business for several years, writing for such clients as Nature, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, the Journal of the National Cancer Institute, and the Wistar Institute.

Karen holds an MS in Scientific and Technical Communication from Oregon State University (1992) and an MS in Marine Studies from the University of Delaware (1985). She is also an author of a book on non-traditional careers in science.

Jessica Mikulski

Senior Medical Communications Officer

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
215) 349-8369
Fax (215) 349-8312
jessica.mikulski@uphs.upenn.edu

Jessica came to Penn Medicine after working for over seven years in media and public relations in the medical association field. She was responsible for media and public relations outreach on behalf of the American Academy of Otolaryngology – Head and Neck Surgery and the American Psychiatric Association, including managing national and grassroots public information campaigns, press outreach for international medical meetings, and crisis communications. She also has experience working in advocacy communications, including regulatory and legislative issues and social media strategy. Jessica attended Susquehanna University where she received a Bachelor of Arts in Communications and later went on to obtain her Master of Arts in Health Communications from The Johns Hopkins University.

Katie Delach

Senior Medical Communications Officer

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 349-5964
Fax (215) 349-8312
katie.delach@uphs.upenn.edu

Katie joined Penn Medicine in 2011 with more than five years of experience working in media relations, communications and public relations. In previous positions, she was responsible for content development, media and public relations strategy and outreach on behalf of clients in healthcare, technology and education. Her experience includes developing traditional, social media and grassroots campaigns, and conducting press outreach for product launches, thought leadership campaigns, and conferences. Katie received a Bachelor of Arts in Journalism from Pennsylvania State University in 2004, and a Master of Science in Public Relations from Boston University in 2007.

Stephen Graff

Senior Medical Communications Officer

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 349-5653
Fax (215) 349-8312
stephen.graff@uphs.upenn.edu

Steve came to Penn Medicine with five years’ experience in health and science communications and media relations. He has worked in journalism, at government agencies, such as the National Cancer Institute and U.S. Department of Energy, in the private sector as an environmental scientist, and most recently in public relations at an academic medical center covering oncology and basic science departments. His experiences include spearheading social media activities for organizations, blogging, internal communications, conferences and media strategy and outreach. Steve graduated from York College of Pennsylvania with a BS in Biology and the University of Colorado, Boulder with an MA in Journalism.

Greg Richter

Communications Specialist

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 614-1937
Fax (215) 349-8312
gregory.richter@uphs.upenn.edu

As communications specialist for Penn Medicine's Department of Communications, Greg supports media monitoring and measurement, publications, web content, social media and media relations. Greg posts content on Inside Penn Medicine and other areas of the Department's internet and intranet pages, writes news releases, announcements, newsletter articles and other content, takes and formats photographs for publications, compiles daily news clips emails, and other communication. Greg earned bachelor's and master's degrees in public relations from Rowan University. Before Penn Medicine, Greg served as a public relations writer in Rowan's Office of Media and Public Relations for Rowan's College of Engineering.

Ylonda Russell

Office Manager

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-2560
Fax (215) 349-8312
ylonda.russell@uphs.upenn.edu

Ylonda has been providing administrative support for the Department of Communications since October 2000. She coordinates the day-to-day operations of the department, handles budget development, invoice processing, front office reception and outgoing/incoming mail. She also assists in web research; maintenance of appropriate inventory; composes, reviews and edits documents; organizes and maintains files and databases; and general clerical support.

Ylonda has been with the Health System for more than 10 years and was previously with the Department of Dermatology.

Rob Press

Digital Communications Editor

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 349-5657
Fax (215) 349-8312
robert.press@uphs.upenn.edu

As Digital Communications Editor for the Penn Medicine Department of Communications, Rob handles the posting of press releases and overall maintenance of the Penn Medicine News site. He also has a hand in Penn Medicine's social media outreach, and assists with photography and light technical support within the office. Prior to arriving at Penn Medicine, Rob was a journalist and medical reporter in the South Jersey area. He is a graduate of Rowan University, with a bachelor's degree in Journalism.

John Shea, PhD

Director, Faculty Publications

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-4802
Fax (215) 349-8312
john.shea@uphs.upenn.edu

John Shea is director of faculty and alumni publications at the University of Pennsylvania Health System and editor of Penn Medicine, the magazine of the Medical Center. He was founding editor of Penn Health Magazine, the publication for the University of Pennsylvania Health System (1995-98). He also writes official memos, speeches, and other items for the CEO and Dean.

Before coming to UPHS, he was manager of The Compass, the biweekly tabloid for University employees (1990-95). He was also an editor at The Pennsylvania Gazette, the University's alumni magazine, for five years. While earning his PhD degree in English from Penn, he served for several years as a teaching fellow and instructor. His undergraduate degree is from Columbia University.

Sally Sapega

Director, Internal Communications

3535 Market Street, Mezzanine
Philadelphia, PA 19104
(215) 662-4488
Fax (215) 349-8312
sally.sapega@uphs.upenn.edu

As editor of HUPdate and System News, Sally is responsible for seeking out story ideas, writing articles, taking photographs for stories, and coordinating both the design and the distribution. In her role as Director of Internal Communications, she is also responsible for helping craft strategic communications plans, writing memos and other communications for senior leadership members, and creating appropriate communications materials for special needs.

Sally holds a BA in Communications from Simmons College and graduated from Rowan University with a masters in Public Relations.