Member Directory

Monica Mallampalli, PhD, is a patient with sleep apnea, a trained biomedical scientist and the executive director of Alliance of Sleep Apnea Partners (ASAP). Besides being a patient advocate, Dr. Mallampalli also brings unique perspectives to conversations and discussions with her research and health policy background.

For over a decade, Dr. Mallampalli has been advocating for the advancement of women’s health from a sex and gender lens within the areas of chronic diseases, clinical trials, drug development, and personalized medicine. Previously, Dr. Mallampalli served as the senior scientific advisor for the Association of Migraine Disorders, HealthyWomen and the Reilly Group. She also served as the Vice President of Scientific Affairs at the Society for Women’s Health Research (SWHR), a Washington DC based nonprofit advocacy organization where she was the chief architect and subject matter expert on programs related to women’s health and sex-based biology.

Prior to SWHR, Dr. Mallampalli worked as a health policy analyst and as a research fellow at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). She did her post-doctoral training at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine’s Department of Cell biology. She earned her Ph.D. at the University of Utah in Human Genetics and received a Master of Sciences with a concentration in Biochemistry from Osmania University in India.

Dr. Mallampalli has co-authored many publications, reports and op-eds, and has been interviewed in the media on several occasions. Dr. Mallampalli serves on the volunteer board for SCAD Alliance and the National Pain Advocacy Center (NPAC).

Cassandra Whyte is the Outreach Coordinator at Men's Health Network (MHN). Located in the D.C. area, Cassie is a recent graduate of Appalachian State University where she majored in Communications and Media
Studies and minored in Political Science and Psychology.

Since graduation, Cassie has spent time as a team lead fundraiser for political and social topics; a communications intern for a political consulting firm
in NYC; and as an intern with MHN.

Cassie's passion, academic, and professional careers thus far have been dedicated to working toward policy implementation, building substantive experience with on-the-ground organizing, fundraising, and media work on campaigns.

Men's Health Network is thankful to have Cassie promoting the health and wellness of men and boys across America!

Alex Kirkland is a Kansas City based author and writer. His debut memoir, Wolves of Hemp Street, written under the pen name Floyd Wooderson, tells his wild story while working on a hemp farm in Colorado. Directly after his time on the farm, he was hit with a curveball of health problems that made him dive deep into the research and studies of mental health, neurology, meditation, brain hacks, and much more. His goal through writing is to help those who are struggling with inner battles, especially other men.

You can find his book on amazon or through: https://wolvesofhempstreet.com

Joseph Shega, MD, is executive vice president and chief medical officer for VITAS Healthcare, the nation’s leading provider of end-of-life care. He is board-certified in geriatric and hospice and palliative medicine, and has been caring for, studying, and teaching about geriatric patients and end-of-life care since 1999. He joined VITAS in 2013 as regional medical director, was named senior vice president and national medical director in 2016, and was promoted to chief medical officer in 2018 and to executive vice president in 2021. Dr. Shega completed medical school at Northwestern University, with a residency in internal medicine at the University of Pittsburgh and a geriatrics fellowship at the University of Chicago.

Zach Derhake co-founded Endurant Athletics, a company that helps young men boost their testosterone levels. In March 2022, Zach realized he had low testosterone and wanted to change it. He spent months researching the best ways to increase his testosterone, and after a year, his testosterone was around 900 ng/dl. While talking with a friend, Zach realized that the information being spread about testosterone is very confusing and unintuitive.

That led Zach Derhake and Leighton Schur to start Endurant Athletics. Endurant Athletics aims to teach people how to increase their testosterone and a simple and easy way. Zach helps people who are on similar journeys boost their testosterone faster.

Hannah Hanson is a public health professional with an undergraduate degree in human science, an employment background in government and environmental public health. She has extensive experience in both qualitative and quantitative research and is excellent with organizational and communication skills. She is steadfast in all of her passions related to contributing to equity-driven, upstream, community-level initiatives, those of which improve health outcomes, with a particular emphasis on the place based built environment work in systemically marginalized populations. Hannah Hanson is a champion of Men's Health through her role as a Public Health Associate, Men's Health Coordinator with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention over North Dakota.

As the Men's Health Coordinator, Hannah has started and managed North Dakota’s first statewide Men’s Health Program, which aims to improve health outcomes in men. The program promotes primary care, health education, mental health awareness, and fatherhood resources. In this role Hannah has designed and secured funding for a statewide Fatherhood Experiences survey to capture novel data on the paternal perspective on the transition to fatherhood to identify gaps in services and priority target areas for program development. She has also collaborated with numerous MCH programs to integrate men's health and women's health programs to promote a joined 'Family Health' approach instead of siloed efforts.

Dr. Julius Johnson is a clinical associate professor at the New York University Rory Meyers School of Nursing and teaches in the undergraduate, graduate, and doctor of nursing programs. He serves on the board of the directors for the National Black Nurses Association, is the immediate past president of the Greater NYC Black Nurses Association, and specializes in creating healthy equity through community interventions and translational science projects. In his spare time, he coaches tackle football for the Brooklyn Skyhawks, spends time with his Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity brothers, and is a loving father.