Keynote Speakers

Julianne Holt-Lunstad

Julianne Holt-Lunstad, Ph.D. is a professor of psychology and neuroscience and director of the Social Connection & Health Lab at Brigham Young University. She is also the founding scientific chair and board member for the U.S. Foundation for Social Connection and the Global Initiative on Loneliness and Connection.

Dr. Holt-Lunstad is an international scientific expert whose research focuses on the individual and population health effects, biological mechanisms, and effective strategies to mitigate risk and promote protection associated with social connection. Her research has been seminal in the recognition of social isolation and loneliness as risk factors for early mortality. As the lead scientific editor for a US Surgeon General’s Advisory and Framework for a National Strategy, her work also focuses on translating evidence into practice and policy. She serves as a scientific advisor and regularly consults for organizations aimed at addressing this issue across sectors. She has provided expert testimony in a US Congressional Hearing, served as a member of multiple National Academy of Sciences consensus committees, the UK Cross Departmental Loneliness Team, European Joint Research Council, World Health Organization, and a subject matter expert for the Gravity Project, Commit to Connect, the National Clearinghouse of Interventions, and the CDC. Her work has been widely recognized within her discipline, having received several awards and being regularly highlighted in major media outlets. 

Dr. Ilan ShapiroDr. Ilan Shapiro is the Senior Vice-President and Chief Health Correspondent and Medical Affairs Officer for AltaMed Health Services. He supports strategies for external health communications, advocacy, and community relations. As the Chief Health Correspondent for AltaMed, Dr. Shapiro works closely with the Public Affairs, Community Affairs, Government Relations, and Civic Engagement departments to help expand community health and wellness initiatives.

Dr. Shapiro has been on the frontlines of the COVID-19 pandemic as a leading health expert, providing care, education and information. He has become a trusted media resource for both regional and national news outlets, including CNN, NBC, MSNBC, Telemundo, and Univision.

Dr. llan Shapiro has been with AltaMed since 2016, and has made a significant impact on the organization and the greater communities it serves. He is a tireless advocate for health care equality, with a deep affinity for innovation and public health policy, especially relating to the Latino population.

Dr. Shapiro's background includes award-winning public health work, often on the international stage. After graduating as Honorary Valedictorian with his medical degree, he worked for the Mexican Secretary of Health as the liaison between Mexico and the World Health Organization (WHO). He has created binational public health programs to improve the health of Hispanic communities on both sides of the border.

Ryan A. McKelleyRyan A. McKelley, Ph.D. is a Licensed Psychologist, Professor of Clinical/Counseling Psychology, Interim Program Director for the School Psychology Graduate Training Program, and Program Coordinator for the Neuroscience Interdisciplinary Minor at the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. He earned a B.S. in Organizational Communication from Northwestern University, and a M.A. in Educational Psychology and Ph.D. in Counseling Psychology from the University of Texas at Austin. He regularly teaches courses on health psychology, behavior modification, abnormal psychology, group counseling, and men and masculinities. He has taught summer sessions abroad in England, Ireland, Spain, China, Costa Rica, & Thailand. He previously served as the Chair and Associate Chair of the Psychology Department.

Dr. McKelley has co-authored over 20 peer-reviewed journal articles and book chapters, mostly in the area of men and masculinities. Specific research and presentation topics include men’s emotions, help-seeking, alternative treatment models, non-traditional work and family roles, fatherhood, men and depression, marketing mental health, and the placebo effect in biofeedback.

In addition to his teaching and research, Dr. McKelley has provided clinical services in a community mental health center, three university counseling centers, and a pain clinic. He currently provides contract clinical services in individual and group therapy, and clinical supervision. He’s been a weekly discussant on the internet radio show and iTunes podcast The Secret Lives of Men, and is Past-President of the Society for the Psychological Study of Men and Masculinities, a division of the American Psychological Association.

Dr. McKelley has been interviewed extensively in the area of men’s mental health and changing gender roles. In the last few years, he has been quoted in outlets including the New York Times, USA Today, ABC News, Upworthy, Vox Media, documentaries, and local papers in U.S. and abroad. He has also appeared on several radio stations such as National Public Radio, Wisconsin Public Radio, and ABC Radio News, has a TEDx talk on social connection and masculinity, interview on masculinity and culture on the Here We Are science podcast, La Crosse Thinkers podcast, the ManKind Project, Men's Therapy Online, and teach-in presentations on rape culture and toxic masculinity.

Meghan Miller

Meghan Miller, Ed.D. is the Director of Health Education at The Floating Hospital, a health clinic in Queens, NY that specializes in healthcare for families living in temporary housing. Dr. Miller leads a team of health education specialists who provide direct outreach and education to individuals, schools, and community organizations on a range of topics—from managing chronic illness, self-care and wellbeing, to healthy nutrition and sexual health.

Drawing upon her experience creating youth-development camps as a community health specialist with the Peace Corps in Uganda, Dr. Miller established The Floating Hospital’s Camp Rise Up, a week-long overnight summer camp that serves as a health education intervention. The camp focuses on sexual health, social-emotional learning and leadership skills for teens living in temporary housing. This year, an additional day camp was held for newly migrated, Spanish-speaking teens.

Dr. Miller holds a Master of Public Health from Emory University and earned her Doctorate in Education from Teacher’s College, Columbia University, with a focus on the impact of health education interventions on at-risk youth. She previously taught middle school English and health in both Philadelphia, with Teach for America, and in Brooklyn with Uncommon Schools.