Events

Clinton Burnside, MPH
Howard University Cancer Center
"Men Take Ten" Program Manager

Clinton Burnside is passionate about helping others make informed decisions about their health. With a focus on men in underserved populations, he addresses health equity, health literacy, and cancer education. Through the "Men Take Ten" program at Howard University Cancer Center, he has reached thousands of men helping them to better understand their risks for various illnesses, including cancer. Using creative approaches, he successfully engages men of all ages, bringing them together for informed peer-to-peer discussions and support. Previously, Mr. Burnside worked with various clinical research organizations – conducting clinical trials that led to FDA approval of several prescription and over-the-counter medications – and served as a behavioral specialist for the North Carolina Department of Corrections.

Rev. Ritney A. Castine
Center for Black Health & Equity
Program Consultant

Ritney Castine is a nationally recognized leader on matters of faith, social justice, and community engagement. As an ordained Methodist clergyperson, he artfully blends his passion for service and humanity with mobilizing the faith community in support of a better world. For nearly two decades, he has led initiatives across the country that educated youth and mobilized communities around the dangers associated with drugs, tobacco, and other substance abuse. He has served in senior leadership positions at Truth Initiative and the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids – overseeing youth advocacy efforts nationally – and has been a Program Consultant for the Center for Black Health & Equity. Ritney has also led faith-based get-out-the-vote campaigns, resulting in record-breaking voter turnout in Louisiana’s 2019 Gubernatorial runoff elections.

Monroe Howard-Shackelford, LMSW, MPA
Hearts In Mind Counseling, Inc.
Psychotherapist

Monroe Howard-Shackelford is a therapist, licensed master social worker, motivational speaker and educator best known for his work as a life coach and advocate for mental health awareness. Inspired by his own diagnosis with major depressive disorder, he is driven to destigmatize mental health and promote the upliftment of LGBTQIA Black men and youth. He continues this effort as a therapist in private practice in Maryland and Virginia and as a part-time faculty counselor at Montgomery College. He is the host of The Naked Truth Experience, a Facebook and YouTube series that celebrates marginalized individuals and the communities they represent. Previously, Mr. Howard-Shackelford has held stints at the Sacramento City Unified School District, where he was responsible for the oversight of over 20 school and community-based programs that served approximately 7,000 students daily. He was also a founding member of former President Barack Obama’s My Brother’s Keeper Alliance, a coalition of Expanded Learning professionals aiming to build safe and supportive communities for boys and young men of color.

Dr. Abiodun Gbekeloluwa Otolorin, MD
Howard University Hospital
Family Medicine Specialist

Dr. Abiodun Otolorin is a board-certified family physician and researcher and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Community and Family Medicine at Howard University where he provides direct patient care and teaches medical students and residents. His research interests are at the intersection of primary care, data science, biomedical informatics, and health disparities. Dr. Otolorin was a scholar at the 2022 Health Disparities Research Institute, a program of the National Institute of Minority Health and Health Disparities (NIMHD), and he is the recipient of an NIMHD administrative supplement award to study cardiovascular disease epidemiology and statin adherence among participants in the National Institutes of Health (NIH) All of Us research program. He is also a co-Investigator and clinical informatics lead on the NIMHD-funded project to establish the Howard University Clinical Research Network for Health Equity. Dr. Otolorin is a 2023 Editorial Fellow with the Annals of Family Medicine and a member of the 2023 MedStar Health Research Institute Research Scholars Program.

Jamal R. Watkins
NAACP
Senior Vice President of Strategy and Advancement

Jamal Watkins currently serves as Senior Vice President of Strategy and Advancement at the NAACP. He previously led the Association's efforts to maximize the African American community's participation and representation in our democracy as the Vice President of Civic Engagement. Prior to the NAACP, he served as National Outreach Director for the AFL-CIO, Deputy National Political Director at Service Employees International Union, Chief of Staff at the Center for Social Inclusion, Managing Director for Campaigns for Amnesty International, and Deputy Director and Interim Executive Director of City Year Los Angeles. Mr. Watkins has worked in several distinct arenas, including politics, campaigns, communications, education, human resources, and fundraising. He played key roles as a National Recruiter for the DNC, Fundraising Canvass Director for Grassroots Campaign, Florida State Director of the Young Voter Alliance during the 2004 Presidential Election, Regional Coordinator on the "Yes on Proposition 79" Campaign for Health Access of California, and as a voter mobilization and engagement field strategist for the 2014 midterm election cycle. As a proud member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., his motto is "Onward and upward."