NEW YORK - s4story -- After a successful battle with cancer, actress Marcia Cross has launched non-profit organization HPV Alliance and a second career as a health advocate. In 2019, the actress went public about her cancer diagnosis and recovery. Since then, she has joined forces with another activist and patient advocate Lillian Kreppel to launch HPV Alliance.

As survivors of HPV-associated cancer, Ms. Cross and Ms. Kreppel saw a need to de-stigmatize Human Papillomavirus (HPV) and shed light on the seven types of cancer that have been found to be caused by this infection. Ms. Kreppel is HPV Alliance's Executive Director, responsible for overseeing the organization's mission and operations.

"HPV Alliance's goal is to spread knowledge and save lives through education about HPV and the seven associated cancers it causes. Through a variety of initiatives that will fill information gaps in both the medical community and public understanding, HPV Alliance aims to de-stigmatize HPV by normalizing conversations around the virus, empowering individuals to advocate for their health, and encouraging medical providers to develop a greater understanding of the virus and implement standards of practice to better prevent, monitor, detect, and treat HPV and HPV-associated cancers in their patients." – Lillian Kreppel, Executive Director and Co-Founder of HPV Alliance

HPV Alliance has organized three advisory boards comprised of leading medical specialists, corporate and non-profit advisors, and social influencers who will help direct HPV Alliance's programs and engagement efforts.

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"The HPV Alliance will do two important things. First it will work to educate the public about this very misunderstood and ubiquitous virus. Secondly, it will work to facilitate changes in the medical profession to more effectively deal with the detection, prevention and treatment of HPV. We are thrilled to have an incredible board of medical experts who are dedicated to this mission." – Marcia Cross, Actress and Co-Founder of HPV Alliance

Corporate Advisory Board

Andrew Ackerman | Consultant, Strategic Planning
Shazia Ahmad | Director of Patient and Physician Services, UBC
Melissa DeFreece, MBA | Partner, Kolektif | V
Dan Lifton, MBA | CEO, Quality of Life Labs
Danielle Reilly Weed | CEO, Media Tonic
Lauren Dillon Thomas | Founder, Triad Resource Group

Medical Advisory Board

Abraham Aragones, MD | Internal Medicine, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Marcelo W.B. Araujo, DDS, MS, PhD | Vice President, Science Institute
Ashley Burton Arkema, BA, BSN, CNP | Nurse Practitioner, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Stephanie V. Blank, MD | Director of Gynecologic Oncology, Mount Sinai Health System
Michael Gaisa, MD | Associate Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Stephen E. Goldstone, MD, FACS | Assistant Clinical Professor of Surgery, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Karen A. Goodman, MD MS | Professor and Vice Chair of Research in Radiation Oncology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Peter Halperin, MD | Board Certified Dermatologist, The New York Presbyterian Hospital
Aaron E. Katz, MD, FACS | Chairman of Urology, NYU Winthrop Hospital of Urology | Professor of Urology, NYU School of Medicine
Carl McDougall, MD | Associate Clinical Professor of Medicine, Weill Medical College of Cornell University

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Marshall Posner, MD | Professor of Medicine, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Paul Romesser, MD | Assistant Professor in Radiation Oncology, Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Keith Seigel, MD, PhD | Associate Professor, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai
Judith A Smith, PharmD, BCOP, CPHQ, FCCP, FISOPP | Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, McGovern Medical School at University of Texas

Social Impact Board

Marcia Cross | Actress and Advocate
Jamie Otis-Hehner | Reality Television Personality, Married at First Sight

Reality television personality, author, and social influencer, Jamie Otis Hehner, best known for Married at First Sight, The Bachelor, and the Podcast Hot Marriage. Cool Parents. partnered with the organization after a prenatal examination revealed she has HPV.

"I hope that by being a part of HPV Alliance I can learn to be my own advocate and show others that they can, too. Like any taboo subject, the more you talk about it, the less taboo it becomes. There is so much shame and stigma associated with any STD or STI, but the fact that HPV affects 80% of the population creates a heightened need for its awareness. We need more people sharing resources and facts on HPV. I am still learning all about HPV myself and I hope to help others by being honest about my journey. If nothing else, I hope to help de-stigmatize the topic." – Jamie Otis Hehner

HPV Alliance is headquartered in New York, NY.

To schedule an interview with a member of the HPV Alliance team and learn more about the organization, please contact Media Tonic.