Brought to you by the Depression Is Real Coalition, The Down & Up Show is dedicated to the reality of depression. Each week our hosts will talk with some of the world's top experts on depression, as well as people who have been impacted by this illness. The reality of depression is that it is a debilitating and potentially deadly medical condition that affects more than 15 million Americans every year. The other reality of depression is that there is hope.

Melva Green, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H.

Melva Green, M.D., M.B.A., M.P.H., is Board Certified by the American Board of Psychiatry and Neurology. She is a physician specializing in diagnosing and treating mental, emotional and behavioral problems. Her credentials include graduation from Meharry Medical College with numerous honors, including induction into Alpha Omega Alpha Honor Medical Society, an internship in pediatrics at D.C.'s Children's National Medical Center and a residency in psychiatry at Johns Hopkins.

Greatly disturbed by the health gap that plagues the lives of many forgotten communities, she completed a W.K. Kellogg postdoctoral fellowship in health disparities before returning to Hopkins as a Sommer Scholar for a Masters in Public Health at the Bloomberg School of Public Health. She holds a Masters in Business Administration from Hopkins, as well.

Dr. Green's accomplishments are showcased in the numerous honors and awards received and appointments to several organizational advisory boards. The most recent accolades and appointments include being chair of the American Psychiatric Association's Committee on Women, executive council member at the Association of Women Psychiatrists, Sommer Scholars Alumni — Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, 2005 Surgeon General's Work Group on Women's Mental Health and 2006 regional finalist for the White House Fellows Program.