HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable, Memphis and Shelby County

Overview

The Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable is a collaboration of healthcare, community, and advocacy partners with a mission to measurably increase HPV vaccination coverage in Memphis and Shelby County, Tennessee. The Roundtable grew out of concern for increased diagnoses of preventable cervical cancers by oncologist Dr. Michael Ulm at West Cancer Center. After a meeting of local HPV partners to address these concerns, the formal Roundtable was established in 2021.

Our guiding principles are:

To engage collectively as a collaborative of local allies and partners to increase HPV vaccination coverage
Work together to increase HPV and HPV vaccination awareness and education to increase HPV vaccination coverage
Build the capacity of Roundtable members to extend the reach of efforts to increase HPV vaccination coverage.

Membership in the Roundtable is extended to individuals and organizations interested in supporting our mission and guiding principles. The Executive Committee is the Roundtable’s governing body that supports the mission, determines the scope of activities, and helps in membership growth. The Planning Committee works on establishing programmatic activities, including the annual Roundtable.

Congratulations to Benita Carney RN, MEd, recipient of the 2024 Brooke Morgan Community Champion Award!

The Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable is proud to recognize Benita Carney, RN, M.Ed, as the 2024 Brooke Morgan Community Champion Awardee. A lifelong Memphian and passionate advocate for public health, Benita currently serves as the Vaccines for Children (VFC) Regional Immunization Representative at the Shelby County Health Department. Since the Roundtable's inception in 2021, Benita has been an active and dedicated member, contributing to program planning and supporting HPV cancer prevention efforts across the community.

Her impactful work, including her involvement with Tennessee Families for Vaccines and her use of Roundtable resources during Immunization Quality Improvement for Providers (IQIP) visits, has helped increase vaccination rates in Shelby County. Those who nominated Benita highlighted her commitment to enhancing cancer prevention efforts, praising her as an exemplary community champion.

Please join us in congratulating Benita and acknowledging her contributions to the local community.

Be a part of the solution, not the problem. I love what I do as a Regional Immunization Representative and hope I am a small part of the solution for creating higher vaccine coverage rates within Shelby County.

Benita Carney, RN, M.Ed.

View slides from the 2024 Memphis and Shelby County Cancer Prevention Roundtable

Meeting presentation slides

The Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable invites you to become a member.

Join now

Leadership

Chair
Michelle Bowden , MD
The University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital

Vice Chair
Fedoria Rugless, PhD
Amerigroup
Memphis, TN

General Representative
Felicia Williams, MHA
Shelby County Health Department
Memphis, TN

General Representative
Naloni Howard, MBA
BlueCare
Chattanooga, TN

Planning committee

Leanne Alexander
Jennifer Berger
Michelle Bowden

Benita Carney
Robert Clark
Seok Won Jin

JR Sanders
Andrea Stubbs
Michael Ulm

Michelle Whitlock
Felicia Williams
Rana Zakaria

Upcoming events

"Protecting Our Little Pumpkins" Open House is Oct. 29

The Memphis and Shelby County Roundtable is excited to host our very first Open House centered around our fall theme "Protecting Our Little Pumpkins." This event will take place on October 29 from 5 p.m-7 p.m. at Midtown Bramble and Bloom. We invite you to join us for an evening of fun and learning, where you'll have the chance to discover more about the Roundtable's mission and how you can get involved in our efforts to prevent HPV cancers. Attendees will also be able to create their very own pumpkin-themed floral arrangements, perfect for the season! You don’t want to miss this opportunity.

Register now

Download a flyer to share (PDF)

Roundtable Meetings

Empowering Conversations: Enhancing HPV Vaccine Uptake with the Announcement Approach

Join the Memphis and Shelby County HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable and the Tennessee Chapter of the American Academy of Pediatrics as they host Empowering Conversations: Enhancing HPV Vaccine Uptake with the Announcement Approach. This event will be held on November 14, 2024, from 6 p.m.- 8 p.m. at Char Restaurant, at 431 S. Highland Street #120 Memphis, TN 38111.

Download flyer

Poster for back-to-school. Includes graphic of popsicle

Protect all the Little Pumpkins from HPV cancer this fall

Please email PreventHPV@stjude.org to request printed copies of the poster.

Download a PDF

Roundtable Bylaws
The HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable bylaws were adopted on Sept. 22, 2022.
Video archive
View videos from meetings and seminars held by the HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable.