Adam Cook worked more than ‘9 to 5’

Even for Dolly Parton, the attention was staggering.

When the East Tennessee Children’s Hospital changed its name to the Dolly Parton Children’s Hospital in February, the announcement debuted on the “Today” show and generated more than 2,000 media stories and 9.4 billion impressions.

Adam Cook ’00 led the work to partner with the country music icon and to promote the name change through a multiplatform communications strategy. Cook, the hospital’s chief development and public affairs officer, earned a bachelor’s degree in communication studies from Carolina.

As a student, Cook delved into interpersonal communication in classes with Patricia Parker, a professor in the UNC College of Arts and Sciences’ communication department and the Ruel W. Tyson Jr. Distinguished Professor of Humanities. He also took organizational communications and debating classes.

“There wasn’t a communications studies class that I didn’t gravitate toward. I enjoyed the technical side of communication — the breakdown between verbal and nonverbal communications, how best to meet someone where they are, instead of trying to pull them into your sphere of influence,” Cook said.

With Parton, he found common ground in her love for children and the region in which she was born and raised when he approached her staff with a partnership proposal. Then he listened to their reaction. He continued listening as more Parton team members became interested. Three years later, the result will continue the hospital’s policy of caring for children, regardless of their race, religion or ability to pay medical bills.

From for-profit to nonprofit

Cook’s professional career began with working in banks during summers between college years. After graduation, Cook took a banking job in Charlotte. “I thought that, as a communications major, I’d take the educational piece, match that with the experience piece I was getting in investment banking and create a super business communicator role.”

He was good at retail banking and investment lending. He began transitioning from a sales role to a management role in which he could persuade, influence and encourage a team to do well.

But he wasn’t completely fulfilled. His wife, Amy, a hospital social worker who often talked about workdays filled with helping people, recognized that he needed to help people in a similar way. She encouraged him to find a job in the same hospital, saying “You need to find a job that fits you.”

“She’s a wise woman,” he said.

After three years of work, Adam Cook’s project culminated in one of the most-covered healthcare stories of the year. (Submitted photo)

Cook applied for an opening in the hospital’s foundation to secure funding for a children’s hospital. Through business relationships and a growing skill set in communication, he contacted two board members and the foundation’s executive director. After a few weeks, he was hired.

“That was fall 2004. I made the career shift from for-profit banking to nonprofit fundraising,” he said.

His boss, Jim Monroe, told Cook that if he followed his guidance, he could possibly succeed him. Cook embraced the mentorship, built relationships and earned fundraising certification, which he renews annually. When Monroe retired in 2009, Cook became foundation director, accelerating his career.

After working in philanthropy and communications at six health care institutions, Cook views his college classes as key to his professional development. But his time at Carolina wasn’t all academics. He cheered on the Tar Heels and rushed Franklin Street after beating Duke. He and friends hit Time-Out for chicken and played intramural sports. As a senior, he became a judge on Carolina’s honor court.

“Remembering what I learned at Chapel Hill, communication really begins with trying to share a message effectively, then finding and aligning values with everyone involved,” Cook said.