A trio of Chapel Hill community members earned the top honor of the North Carolina attorney general’s office this week.

Chapel Hill High School English teacher Kimberly Jones, as well as UNC doctoral students Kara Fox and Maria Teresa Maza, were named 2023 Dogwood Award winners by Attorney General Josh Stein on Tuesday. The trio were among 11 Triangle-area residents to receive the honor and 31 total North Carolinians.

The Dogwood Awards are issued to recognize people who work in fields that help improve the health, safety, and well-being of the state’s residents. The three Orange County recipients earned their awards through work with children.

Jones has taught at Chapel Hill High School through her 17-year career. The reigning 2023 North Carolina Teacher of the Year, she was chosen from nine finalists across the state after winning the district and regional Teacher of the Year awards. Jones has also been given the Bernadine Sullivan Chair for Excellence in Teaching High School English or Social Studies and won the 2021 Equity Equals Excellence Award from the district’s Minority Student Achievement Network.

“Kimberly’s devotion to her students’ education and success is a testament to the importance of public school teachers and why we must pay and support them more,” Stein said in a release about the award recipients.

Kimberly Jones (right) accepts her Dogwood Award from NC Attorney General Josh Stein. (Photo via the Attorney General’s office.)

Kara Fox (right) and Maria Teresa Maza (left) accept their Dogwood Award from NC Attorney General Josh Stein. (Photo via the Attorney General’s office.)

Fox and Maza, meanwhile, earned their Dogwood Awards through their study of social media’s effects on teenagers. Both work as part of the Winston National Center on Technology Use, Brain, and Psychological Development, which was founded in 2022 at UNC to study the long-term effects of social media on cognitive development and the emotions of young residents. Maza’s research specifically examines how biosocial factors and technology impact developing brains and the health risks that can surface as a result. Fox studies the impact of peer relations on teenagers and young adults’ health — which is emphasized through social media.

“We’re only beginning to understand how dangerous social media is for our children, and Kara and Maria Teresa are at the forefront of that research,” said Stein. “Their work is going to help us protect our kids from greedy social media companies and the risks they pose.”

It is the second consecutive year where a trio of Orange County community members earned such recognition from Stein’s office. In 2022, he named former Orange County District Attorney Jim Woodall, UNC Health’s Jenny Anand, and Orange County Health Department’s Dr. Erica Pettigrew as Dogwood Award recipients.

For the full list of Triangle-area North Carolinians recognized this year, visit the state attorney general’s website.

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