TOBACCO-FREE KIDS - Key Persons
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- Director Strategic Outreach and Marketing
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- Kano State Nigeria Country Coordinator
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- Associate Director, Communications
- Associate Director, Health Systems Strengthening
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- Africa Senior Regional Advocacy Advisor
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- Director, Internet Strategy and Operations
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- Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Associate, Communications and Social Media
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- Director, Southwest Region
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- Director, Federal Field Operations
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- Vice President, Federal Relations
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- Vice President, State Advocacy Programs
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- Grants and Contracts Associate
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- Associate Director, Communications
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- Director, International Grants
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- Donor Grants Accounting Manager
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Vice President & Chief Health Officer / Kaiser Permanente / Oakland, CA
- Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer for Kaiser Permanente
Dr. Choucair oversees the organization's efforts to address the social health of its 12.5 million members and the 68 million people who live in the communities it serves. This work includes the creation of the nation's largest social health network, integrated with Kaiser Permanente's health care services, to meet the housing, food and transportation needs of its members.
Additionally, Dr. Choucair manages Kaiser Permanente's community health portfolio, including medical financial assistance and charitable care as well as grants and community health initiatives. He is also responsible for the organization's environmental stewardship work leading to Kaiser Permanente becoming carbon neutral in 2020. As Chief Health Officer, he is also accountable for the care of over 1 million Kaiser Permanente Medicaid members and those dually enrolled in Medicaid and Medicare.
From January through November 2021, Dr. Choucair served as the White House National Vaccinations Coordinator. In that role he focused on coordinating the timely, safe and equitable administration of COVID-19 vaccinations for the U.S. population, in close partnership with relevant federal departments and agencies, and state and local authorities, health systems and community-based organizations. During his tenure as Vaccinations Coordinator, more than 450 million doses of the vaccine were administered nationwide. He returned to Kaiser Permanente in December 2021.
Before joining Kaiser Permanente in 2016, Dr. Choucair was at Trinity Health, where he served as senior vice president of safety net and community health. He worked directly with Trinity Health's regions to improve the health of populations and impact the community-based social determinants of health. He was responsible for developing new care delivery models and new relationships with payers, public health agencies and community organizations. Dr. Choucair and his team led the organization's community benefit portfolio of approximately $1 billion annually. He also launched Trinity Health's Transforming Communities Initiative to transform the health and well-being of communities across the country.
Dr. Choucair has served on numerous boards, including Change Lab Solutions, National Healthcare for the Homeless Council, Futuro Health and other organizations. He is the author of Precision Community Health, a guide for public health innovation in policy, big data, media and community partnerships to improve health for all.
A family physician by training, Dr. Choucair holds an MD from the American University of Beirut and a master's degree in health care management from the University of Texas at Dallas. He completed his family residency at Baylor College of Medicine.
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- Associate Director, Communications
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- Director, Africa Programs
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- Program Financial Compliance Officer
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- Director, Federal Government Relations
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- Director, Digital Engagement
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- Vietnam Program Assistant
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- Associate Director, Community Outreach
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- Associate Vice President, Advocacy and Outreach
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- Contract Specialist, U.S. Programs
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- Executive Assistant to the Executive Vice President
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- Chairman of the Finance Committee
- Managing Director
- Member of the Board of Directors
Christopher Conley is a managing director and leads the municipal finance platform at Muni Capital Management, LLC, a division of Tiptree Financial, which manages tax exempt assets for institutional investors. Chris joined Tiptree in 2009 from Cohen & Company, where he was a managing director and co-head of the municipal finance platform.
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- Director, Southern Region
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- Associate Director, Communications
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- Director, Media Relations
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- Grants Officer, Advocacy Fund
- Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Member of the Board of Directors
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- Philippines Country Coordinator
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- Associate Director, Tobacco Industry Campaigns
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- Associate Director, Research
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- Contracts Associate / Md Rahman, Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Nigeria Country Coordinator
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- Manager, Operations and Events
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- Associate Director
- Finance
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- Legal Coordinator, Latin America Region
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- Program Manager, Strategic Partnerships
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- Global Program and Financial Compliance Officer
- Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Program and Financial Compliance Officer / International Legal Consortium
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- Budget and Grants Accounting Manager
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- Vice President, Finance and Administration
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- Associate Director, Advocacy
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- Bangladesh Communications Advisor
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- Executive Assistant, Africa and Eurasia Programs
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- International Digital Strategist
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- Associate Vice President, Strategic Communications
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- Senior Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Senior Program Financial Compliance Officer
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- Associate Director, Communications
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- Senior Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Director, Rocky Mountain / Great Plains
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- Chief Executive Officer
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Co - Chairman of the Foundation Board of the Campaign for Tobacco - Free Kids
- Executive Chairman of DermaForce Partners
Jonah Shacknai serves as executive chairman of DermaForce Partners, an aesthetics technology firm that develops and globally commercializes novel cosmetic products in multiple channels, including the doctor-dispensed skincare brand SkinBetter Science. Jonah also serves as chairman of the board of directors for Illustris Pharmaceuticals, Inc., a development stage biotechnology company. Prior to co-founding DermaForce, Jonah was the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of Medicis Pharmaceuticals Corporation.
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- Director Eurasia Programs
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- Communications and Digital Engagement Manager
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Vice President & Chief Health Officer / Kaiser Permanente / Oakland, CA
- Senior Vice President and Chief Health Officer
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- Associate Director, Web Content
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- Associate Director, International Digital Engagement
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- Director, Northeastern Region
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- Vice President, Development and Strategic Alliances
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- Director, Financial Planning and Analysis
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- Director, Mid - Atlantic Region
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- Vietnam Senior Policy Advisor
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- President
- President of the Board of Directors
- President of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Lisa Lacasse is the President of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society (ACS). She leads an organization of staff in Washington, DC and across the country in support of laws and policies that help people fight cancer and advance the ACS' mission.
Since joining ACS CAN in 2007, Lisa has been integrally involved in helping to establish a nationwide public health advocacy organization that influences and shapes public policy at all levels of government. Her passion for representing the voices of all cancer patients and their families is exemplified in her leadership.
In her former capacity as Deputy President, Lisa managed a broad portfolio in support of ACS CAN's advocacy priorities. The focus of her work was on strategic integration and organizational alignment across the enterprise. Her responsibilities included organizational development and training, volunteer engagement and grassroots strategy, media advocacy, public policy, finance, governance, human resources, and all ACS CAN operations.
She oversaw ACS CAN's One Degree campaign - a three-year grassroots effort calling on Congress to increase federal funding for medical research at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) by $6 billion, including $1 billion for cancer-specific research at the National Cancer Institute (NCI). In 2018 - in a pivotal moment in the fight against cancer - the goal of the One Degree campaign was realized. The influx of funding will lead to more ways to prevent and detect cancer at its earliest, most treatable stages, better treatments and new cures.
Lisa and her team were also instrumental in making sure that critical patient protections were included in the Affordable Care Act so that comprehensive health insurance was available, without discrimination, for people with pre-existing conditions such as cancer. Since the law's passage in 2010, Lisa has led ACS CAN's dedicated efforts to safeguard these hard-won, lifesaving patient protections.
Lisa received a Master of Business Administration from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Vermont. Before joining ACS CAN, she was the chief financial officer at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) Clinical Research Center, a 242-bed, clinical research hospital where she was responsible for the planning, formulation, and execution of a $345 million annual budget. Prior to NIH, Lisa spent several years in senior management at the University of Maryland Medical System and began her career in the office of the Governor of the State of Maine.
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- Associate Director, Federal Government Relations
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- Director, Grants, Contracts and Database Administration
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- Director, South Asia Programs
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- Food Policy Director, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean
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- Program Manager, Advocacy Fund
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- Vice President, International Communications
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- Colombia Advocacy Advisor
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Senior Vice President of Government & Public Affairs at CVS Health
- Senior Vice President, Government & Public Affairs
Melissa Schulman is the Senior Vice President of Government & Public Affairs at CVS Health. In this role, she leads the lobbying, advocacy, regulatory and issue management work for all CVS Health business units at the state and federal level. The Government Affairs team oversees all communications and advocacy with policymakers in Congress, the Executive branch and across all 50 states, while also managing issue campaigns to support its objectives. Melissa has been in her role at CVS Health for over six years, having successfully worked to advance the acquisition of Aetna and the integration of the two companies. She has been working with business leaders to manage the company's COVID-19 pandemic response with state and federal officials and the White House, in addition to overseeing a multitude of policy matters.
Known for her extensive legislative expertise, Melissa spent fourteen years on Capitol Hill, serving in senior staff roles. She has been successfully advising corporations, non-profits and trade associations on their government affairs strategies for over 20 years and was again named as one of The Hill's top corporate lobbyists in 2021.
Prior to joining CVS, Melissa was the head of Government Affairs at the Generic Pharmaceutical Association and was Vice President at the Bockorny Group, providing counsel to large corporations, trade associations and non-profits across a range of industries. While on Capitol Hill, she served as Executive Director of the Democratic Caucus and Policy Director to Rep. Steny Hoyer (D-MD) and worked for Rep. Thomas Manton (D-NY) and Geraldine Ferraro (D-NY).
Melissa, residing in McLean, Virginia, is an avid Washington Capitals fan and graduate of James Madison College at Michigan State University.
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- Associate Director, Advocacy
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- Director Advocacy and Capacity Strengthening
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- Member of the Board of Directors
Mike Moore was attorney general of the State of Mississippi from 1988 to 2004 and now practices law in the areas of dispute resolution and governmental relations with his own firm, Mike Moore Law Firm, LLC, in Flowood, Mississippi. Prior to opening his own firm, Mike practiced with Phelps Dunbar in Jackson, Miss.
He received national attention in 1994 when he filed the first lawsuit against 13 tobacco companies, making Mississippi the first state to insist that cigarette manufacturers reimburse the state for costs incurred while treating smoking-related illnesses. The suit resulted in a $4.1 billion settlement for Mississippi. Mike also led the national tobacco litigation effort, which resulted in a $246 billion recovery for all of the states. Before his 16 years as Mississippi's Attorney General, he served as district attorney on the Mississippi Gulf Coast for two terms.
In 1992, Mike became the first resident Mississippian to be selected as one of the Ten Most Outstanding Young Americans by the National Jaycees. In 1994, his fellow attorneys general bestowed upon him the prestigious Wyman Award, naming him the most outstanding attorney general in the nation. Mike also served as president of the National Association of Attorneys General. In 1998 the National Law Journal named him "Lawyer of the Year," and Governing Magazine named him "Public Official of the Year." In May 2003, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids presented Mike with their "Champion Award" for a decade of service in protecting America's young people from tobacco addiction and his role in protecting the nation's health. In 2004, he was the recipient of the Julius Richmond Award, which is the highest award given by the Harvard School of Public Health.
Mike continues to stay very active in tobacco prevention work across America. He chairs The Partnership for a Healthy Mississippi, Mississippi's tobacco prevention program that he founded after the settlement in 1998. He was recently selected to serve on the board of the Truth Initiative, formerly known as the American Legacy Foundation, created by the state attorneys general to reduce tobacco use in America. In addition, Mike serves as a board member for the Cal Ripken, Sr. Foundation, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and as a trustee for the Stennis Center for Public Service.
Mike is married to Letitia. They have one son, Kyle, who is married to Ashley, and two grandchildren, Stone and Indie.
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- Associate Director of Research
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Chief Executive Officer / American Heart Association / Dallas, TX
- Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association
Nancy Brown has been chief executive officer of the American Heart Association (AHA) since October 2008. The AHA is widely known and highly respected as the world's largest voluntary health organization dedicated to preventing, treating and defeating cardiovascular diseases and stroke.
During her tenure as CEO, the AHA has become a global leader in the discovery and dissemination of heart disease and stroke science. Notably, under Nancy's leadership, the AHA established the first-ever definition of "cardiovascular health" and announced its bold 2020 health impact goal: to improve the cardiovascular health of all Americans by 20 percent while reducing deaths from cardiovascular diseases and stroke by 20 percent. This goal has provided a rallying point for AHA's volunteers, scientists, staff, and donors.
Nancy has led the organization to significant advances during her tenure, including:
Creating MyResearchLegacy™ which puts patients and their needs at the center of scientific research;
Launching the AHA's Institute for Precision Cardiovascular Medicine, a ground-breaking research enterprise focused on fulfilling the promise of personalized medicine;
Cultivating a strategic business relationship with Amazon Web Services centered on the precision medicine data marketplace;
Developing One Brave Idea™, an unprecedented $75 million/5-year research collaboration with Verily and AstraZeneca which aims to end coronary heart disease and its consequences;
Convening the AHA's CEO Roundtable, comprised of CEOs from the largest and most influential corporations in America driving new workplace health solutions;
Advancing a number of critical new mission-aligned and revenue business enterprises for the AHA; and
Evolving the AHA's first-ever integrated global strategy which has expanded the organization's international presence and impact.
In addition to her tireless efforts for the AHA, Nancy shares her passion for improving the health of individuals in the U.S. and globally by serving as a member of the boards of directors of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, Research!America, the Alliance for a Healthier Generation, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Truth Initiative, and the Valentin Fuster-Mount Sinai Foundation for Science, Health and Empowerment. Nancy also serves as a member of the Health Governors Community of the World Economic Forum, the Qualcomm Life advisory board, the FasterCures Patients Count Leadership Council and Leadership18. She previously served as chairman of the board of the National Health Council.
Prior to being named CEO, Nancy served as AHA's chief operating officer for eight years. In this role she managed the AHA's mission, science and operations functions and led the AHA's integrated strategy to achieve its 2010 Impact Goal to reduce coronary heart disease, stroke and risk by 25 percent. Notable accomplishments also included the creation of the AHA's Go Red for Women cause to advance women's cardiovascular health and the development of a suite of quality improvement programs including Get With The Guidelines. She has held multiple leadership positions at the AHA since her start in 1986 leading fundraising initiatives in the Michigan Affiliate, including serving as the executive director in Metro Detroit, as well as executive vice president of the former Massachusetts and former New England Affiliates. Prior to joining the AHA, Nancy served her home state of Michigan as director of development/deputy director of the endowment campaign for the Michigan Cancer Foundation and as special events director for Mount Carmel Mercy Hospital in Detroit.
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- Director, Finance and Administration
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- Program Associate, Youth Advocacy
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- Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Ouyema, Program Associate, Strategic Partnerships
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- Vice President, Global Operations
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- Member of the Board of Directors
- Fellow of the American Psychiatric Association
Patrice A. Harris, MD, MA is the CEO and Co-Founder of eMed, a digital healthcare company. She is a board-certified psychiatrist from Atlanta and has diverse experience as a private practicing physician, county public health officer, patient advocate and in policy, legislative and government affairs. Dr. Harris was the 174th President of the American Medical Association and the first African American woman elected to that position. Dr. Harris serves as the Medical Editor in Chief for EverydayHealth.com, and is a visiting professor of psychiatry at the Columbia University Vagelos College of Physicians and Surgeons.
Having served on the AMA Board of Trustees since 2011, and as chair from 2016 to 2017, she has long been a mentor, a role model and an advocate. Prior to serving on the board, Dr. Harris honed her broad knowledge and deep understanding of health care issues through various leadership roles. At the AMA these included having served for many years on the AMA Council on Legislation, including a term as chair, and on multiple AMA task forces on topics such as health information technology, payment and delivery reform, and private contracting.
Beyond the AMA she has held positions of leadership with the American Psychiatric Association, the Georgia Psychiatric Physicians Association, the Medical Association of Georgia, and The Big Cities Health Coalition, where she chaired this forum composed of leaders from America's largest metropolitan health departments. She is a member of the Steering Committee of the Atlanta Regional Collaborative for Health Improvement (ARCHI) and the Board of the Georgia Aids Coalition. She has also served on the Boards of Georgia NAMI and the Mental Health Association of Georgia.
Dr. Harris led the AMA's efforts to end the opioid epidemic and served as chair of the AMA Opioid Task Force from its inception in 2014 to 2021. Dr. Harris led the Task Force as it worked across every state to eliminate barriers to treatment, provide patients with access to affordable, non-opioid pain care, and fight the stigma faced by those with substance use-disorders.
Growing up in Bluefield, W. Va., Dr. Harris dreamt of entering medicine at a time when few women of color were encouraged to become physicians. Dr. Harris spent her formative years at West Virginia University, earning a BA in psychology, an MA in counseling psychology and, ultimately, a medical degree in 1992. It was during this time that her passion for helping children emerged, and she completed her psychiatry residency and fellowships in child and adolescent psychiatry and forensic psychiatry at the Emory University School of Medicine. She also served as the senior policy fellow at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at the Emory University School of Law.
Two themes that govern Dr. Harris's professional life are a passion to improve the lives of children and service to others. A recognized expert in children's mental health and childhood trauma, Dr. Harris has led efforts on both local and national levels to integrate public health, behavioral health and primary care services with supports for employment, housing and education.
Dr. Harris has been a speaker at national and international conferences and has given invited lectures and presentations on COVID-19, children's mental health, childhood trauma, integration of mental health into overall health services, health equity, health policy and the intersection of athletics and health. She has been a guest expert on multiple national radio and television networks including CNN, MSNBC, Fox and NPR. Dr. Harris has received numerous awards in recognition of her service and leadership.
Dr. Harris is a fellow of the American Psychiatric Association and is an adjunct assistant professor in the Emory Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, and an adjunct clinical assistant professor in psychiatry and behavioral sciences at the Morehouse School of Medicine.
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- Regional Director
- Director, Latin America Programs
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- Director, Foundation Relations
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- Regional Director
- Director, China Programs
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- Associate Director, Advocacy
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- Bangladesh Country Coordinator / Md Rahman, Program and Financial Compliance Officer
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- Lead Consultant, India National Policy
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- Associate Director, Budget Advocacy
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- Bangladesh Communications Manager
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- Director, Capacity Strengthening and Training
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- Associate Director, Advocacy
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- Director of State Communications
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- Chief Executive Officer
- Founder
- Member of the Board of Directors
- Founder and Chief Executive Officer of RIESTER
- Founding Co - Owner and Board Member of Phoenix Rising FC
Tim Riester is the founder and Chief Executive Officer of RIESTER, one of the largest, privately-owned digital marketing and advertising agencies in the western United States. Under his leadership, RIESTER was listed on the Inc. 500 list of fastest growing companies in America for four consecutive years, Advertising Age listed the firm among the "20 Agencies to Watch in America," and Forbes named RIESTER among the "Top 100 Global Ad Agencies That Know Social Media and Google."
Tim has been leading successful public health campaigns for more than two decades including campaigns to; prevent tobacco use and create smoke-free laws, stop methamphetamine addiction, advance treatment protocols for HIV/AIDS, halt drinking and driving, and break opioid addiction. Tim served as a strategic marketing consultant for the FDA Center for Tobacco Products' Office of Health Communication & Education and also served on an expert panel for the Boston University Medical Center that established guidelines for national and state tobacco prevention programs.
The University of Arizona's Karl Eller College of Business and Public Administration named Tim an Honored Entrepreneurial Fellow in 1999. He was a finalist for Ernst & Young's Entrepreneur of the Year award in 2000 and was chosen as "Ad Person of the Year" in 2005 by the American Advertising Federation. Tim was selected as a "2010 Father of the Year" by the Father's Day Council and the American Diabetes Association, and he was awarded the "2011 Spirit of Philanthropy Award" by the Greater Arizona Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals. The Phoenix Business Journal honored Tim and his wife Mirja with inclusion on its list of "2015 Phoenix Power Couples."
Tim is a founding Co-Owner and Board Member of Phoenix Rising FC, Arizona's highest-level professional soccer team. Tim also serves as a founding board member for the MaxInMotion Foundation, a non-profit organization assisting economically challenged youth athletes as well as those with disabilities, and as a member of the endowment board of trustees for the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University.
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- Vice President, Health Systems Strengthening
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- Vice President, Food and Nutrition Policy
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- Director, Information Technology and Operations
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- Chairman of the Board
- Founder, Global Social Enterprise Initiative and Distinguished Professor of the Practice, Georgetown University 's McDonough School of Business
As a professor in the Master of Business Administration (MBA) program at Georgetown McDonough, Bill teaches Corporate Social Responsibility, Principled Leadership for Business and Society, and Leadership and Management of Nonprofit Organizations.
He is the founder of the Global Social Enterprise Initiative at McDonough and oversees the program. Bill is also the co-chair of the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care, a national alliance dedicated to reforming advanced illness and end-of-life care in the United States.
He was previously chief executive officer of AARP, a membership organization of 40 million people age 50 and older. Prior to AARP, Bill was founder and president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, executive vice present of CARE, the international relief and development organization and co-founder and president of Porter Novelli, one of the world's largest public relations firms.
Bill began his career at Unilever, became an account supervisor at a New York advertising agency and later served as director of advertising and creative services at the Peace Corps.
He was previously chief executive officer of AARP, a membership organization of 40 million people age 50 and older. Prior to AARP, Bill was founder and president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, executive vice present of CARE, the international relief and development organization and co-founder and president of Porter Novelli, one of the world's largest public relations firms.
Bill began his career at Unilever, became an account supervisor at a New York advertising agency and later served as director of advertising and creative services at the Peace Corps.
Presently, Bill is on the boards of the American Cancer Society, the Bipartisan Policy Center Advocacy Network, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the Center of Mental Health Pathways and Support for Self-Directed Care (COMPASS), KaBoom!, and Strategic Partnerships.
In addition, he co-chairs the Care Culture and Decision-Making Innovation Collaborative of the National Academy of Medicine (NAM) and previously served on NAM committees which produced reports on The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health; and Dying in America: Improving Quality and Honoring Individual Preferences Near the End of Life.
Bill received a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. from Penn's Annenberg School for Communication and pursued doctoral studies at New York University. He taught marketing management for ten years at the University of Maryland's MBA program and also taught health communications there.
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- Associate Director, Advocacy
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- CEO
- Member of the Board of Directors
- President
- President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco - Free Kids
Yolonda C. Richardson is President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a position she has held since July 1, 2023. The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is the leading advocacy organization working to prevent and reduce tobacco use and its deadly consequences in the United States and around the world.
From 2009 to 2023, Ms. Richardson served as Executive Vice President for Global Programs at Tobacco-Free Kids. In that role, she oversaw efforts to enact and implement effective tobacco control policies in over 60 countries, including Tobacco-Free Kids' partnership in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. Under Ms. Richardson's leadership, the global program expanded in 2014 to focus on other critical public health challenges with the launch of the Global Health Advocacy Incubator (GHAI). Building on the successes and lessons learned in the global fight against tobacco, GHAI now works in dozens of countries around the world and supports civil society organizations to advance policies on a wide range of public health issues, including food and nutrition policy, health systems strengthening and budget advocacy, and injury prevention.
Prior to joining Tobacco-Free Kids, Ms. Richardson served as the President and Founder of Richardson Consulting, a managing consulting firm specialized in providing senior level strategic support and expertise to nonprofit organizations, foundations, corporate philanthropies, and global development agencies. She has consulted with and for a range of private companies, foundations and nonprofit organizations, including Shell Corporation, Inc., ExxonMobil Corporation, Carnegie Corporation of New York, ELMA Philanthropies, Leon H. Sullivan Foundation, LTL Strategies, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur and Ford Foundations.
Formerly, Ms. Richardson served as President and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of the Centre for Development and Population Activities (CEDPA). Founded in 1975, CEDPA seeks to advance women's rights and expand their access to health and other services through partnerships with more than 150 organizations in 40 countries. As President and CEO, she provided overall leadership and strategic direction for the organization. In addition, she led the organization's fundraising and new business development efforts, successfully increased the number and scope of private sector partnerships, and raised the visibility of the organization and its issues in the United States and abroad.
She has also served as Special Counsel for the African Development Foundation, a government-funded granting agency that provides financial support to African non-governmental organizations and small businesses to enhance the participation of the poor in the development of their countries. As Senior Vice President of Africare, she oversaw program design, implementation and evaluation of more than 150 rural development projects throughout Africa focused on community health, agriculture, and democracy and governance. She also served as in-house link with external legal counsel on issues of trademark, copyright, employment, and contracting issues.
Prior to joining Africare, Ms. Richardson spent ten years at the Carnegie Corporation of New York, a global foundation, where she managed an international grant program focused on improving women's health and programs and promoting U.S. civil rights, democracy, and governance. Her work at the foundation included support to women's groups and leaders throughout Africa as well as to an operations research network in West Africa to address the high rates of maternal mortality. Additional support helped to build the women's movement in South Africa and to address educational access for girls.
Ms. Richardson is a recognized global public health expert as well as on gender and international development, global health, U.S. philanthropy and Corporate Social Responsibility. She speaks and lectures regularly on international development issues and has appeared as an expert source in top media outlets, including the Associated Press, Reuters, C-SPAN, and National Public Radio. She has worked in and traveled to more than 60 countries in Africa, Asia, Europe, and Central and South America. She has served on the boards of several national and international organizations. Having practiced as a corporate attorney at the Wall Street law firm, Cahill Gordon & Reindel, Ms. Richardson continues to be a member of the New York Bar Association. She is also a member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Ms. Richardson holds a Masters Degree in Public Health from Columbia University and a Juris Doctorate from Yale University School of Law. She received a Bachelor of Arts degree, summa cum laude, from Dillard University in New Orleans.