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Explore our cutting edge research, world-class patient care, career opportunities and more.
St. Jude Children's Research Hospital Home
- Fundraising
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.
Making HPV Vaccination Accessible (2/11/2025)
The Memphis Roundtable Making HPV Vaccination Accessible event was held on February 11, 2025, from noon to 1:15 p.m. Central Time. Innovative strategies and best practices for delivering HPV vaccination in alternative care settings, such as schools, pharmacies, and mobile clinics were discussed.
Leadership
Chair
Jara Best Jones , MD
Retired Pediatric Physician
Chair-Elect
Sonia R. Thomas, DNP, MSN, NEA-BC, RNC
Chief of Nursing & Allied Health
Shelby County Health Department
Vice Chair
Fedoria Rugless, PhD
Senior Project Director
University of Memphis School of Public Health
General Representative
Benita Carney, RN, MEd
VFC Regional Immunization Representative
Shelby County Health Department
General Representative
Felicia Williams, MHA
Immunization Program Manager
Shelby County Health Department
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
Resources
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Roundtable Bylaws
The HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable bylaws were adopted on Sept. 22, 2022.
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Video archive
View videos from meetings and seminars held by the HPV Cancer Prevention Roundtable.
Contact us
Contact us at PreventHPV@stjude.org with any questions.
