Board of Directors
Our Board of Directors are comprised of both patients with sleep disorders and family members of people with sleep disorders.
David Bishop, LCSW
President, CEO, and Founder
Sleep Apnea Patient
David is a sleep apnea patient who like many went undiagnosed for years
despite his wife's enduring snoring and s who has been involved in patient sleep advocacy
since 2018. He served on two sleep focused nonprofit boards and held a variety
of roles which included chair of advocacy, secretary, vice president, and chairman of the board.
His background is in clinical social work with over 25 years of private practice
experience. He also served in the Illinois Army National Guard for 8 years as an
officer. He has 29 years of experience in community corrections with the majority
working with adults with severe mental illnesses in the court system. His social
work skills enabled him to navigate systemic barriers clients faced in obtaining
services and provide a supportive environment.
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David served as a patient representative on various sleep related committees.
For three years, he served as a reviewer for a community foundation. He also
served as a patient representative for an organization responsible for a subcontract from the Department of Defense to review sleep related research
proposals being considered for funding.
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His time in advocacy has given him the opportunity to travel to Washington D.C.
to discuss patients' sleep concerns with Congressional staffers; attend various
professional sleep society meeting (American Thoracic Society, American Academy of Sleep Medicine and Sleep Research Society Meeting-APSS); serve as a patient representative on a sleep apnea scoring taskforce; and speak with various executive board members of the American Academy of Sleep Medicine about patients' concerns.
He is passionate about sleep apnea and saw a major gap in the patient
advocacy space to address people who are historically underserved. These
same people are his friends, neighbors, and family members. Working to
advocate for more resources for underserved people is in his heart and is a
central principle of the Sleep Equity Project.
Darthula Young, MBA
Board Member
Sleep Apnea Patient
Darthula Young earned a BA degree from Northeastern Illinois University and an MBA from Dominican University. She attended Robert Goizuetta Business School Executive Leadership Institute Emory University, and the City of Chicago’s Executive Development Program. Most of her professional career was spent working in the private sector in senior management positions with Lockheed Martin IMS, SAP, and MAXIMUS Inc.
At Lockheed Martin and MAXIMUS her responsibilities included marketing, government relations, project/operations management and business development in the Midwest and southeast states.
After leaving the private sector Darthula provided consulting services to the Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Chicago to develop, enhance and implement the District’s Small Business Enterprise (SBE) recruitment program, moving the contractors from subcontracting capacity to a prime/general contracting capacity.
Darthula has served on many boards of local civic organizations, government advisory committees (Juvenile Detention, Park District), and STEM access.
Diagnosed with severe sleep apnea in 2013, she experienced long delays and problems getting her continuious positive airway pressure (CPAP) maghine supplies and was unable to receive a new CPAP after the specified five years allowed by Medicare. Even with the intervention of her doctor she continued to experience major delays with supplies. The frustration she experienced and the lack of knowledge of the physical and mental effects of sleep apnea inspired her to research what is the proper use of the device, sleep apnea symptoms, and the effects of not using the cpap device. She was not surprised by the symptoms, the physical and mental damage which can result in not adjusting to use CPAP of the device. Darthula began talking with family members and friend who were not familiar with the condition, and those who were unable to use their device on a regular basis.
She began the journey of educating people who talk about symptoms which are consistent with sleep apnea and the importance of getting a sleep study. She also feels it is important to support and encourage those who have a cpap to use it on an ongoing basis. Darthula is proud to report the results from her last visit with her Pulmonary Doctor her cpap usage was ninety-nine percent far exceeding the Medicare required usage.
Eric Prado
Board Member
Sleep Apnea Patient
Karen Jacobs, MPA
Board Member
Spouse of Patient with Sleep Apnea
2023 Interns
Sleep Equity Project has one current intern from the University of Illinois at Chicago, School of Public Health. The student's focus will be focused on a myriad of areas regarding sleep equity. If you have any clinic opportunities for our intern to shadow, please reach out to David Bishop at SleepEquityProject@gmail.com.
Volunteer
We are looking for talented and passionate volunteers to help us grow our organization. See the roles below and learn more.
Board Member Interest
We are seeking people interested in applying for board membership. Do you represent one of the health disparity populations (Minority, Gender, Sexual Orientation, etc) and have a sleep disorder? Sleep Equity Project need diverse people to add voice to those that are underserved.