Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights and the ANR Foundation are excited to welcome new Board Executive Committee and new Directors who bring a wealth of experience, expertise and vision to accomplish our goal of closing the health equity gap in smokefree protections in all workplaces.
Over the last two years, as the pandemic and economy caused many organizations to decrease programs, ANR/F recognized the importance of our advocacy and services to address a significant public health issue and how it could also help prevent the transmission of viruses like COVID-19. With the support of its Board of Directors, ANR and the ANR Foundation expanded and updated its resources and modes of service provision to include more virtual platforms to help meet the needs of our partners in public health. Our Board, too, is expanding to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve.
We want to acknowledge the incredible dedication and work of the current Executive Committee, particularly the leadership of outgoing Board Chair Kirk Kleinschmidt and outgoing Treasurer, Bruce Hetrick, both of whom will continue to serve on the Board and provide support for the transition of our new Executive Committee members. Sharon Eubanks, Vice Chair, and Joel Dunnington, Secretary, will continue to serve on the Executive Committee in new roles.
Mr. Kleinschmidt has served on the Board since 2001. He first served on the Executive Committee as Treasurer of the Board and was then elected to Board Chair. Under his leadership, ANR/F underwent a rigorous sustainability planning process, after which ANR/F grew its small but mighty team and expanded its programmatic support. Mr. Hetrick has served on the Board since 2009. As Treasurer, Mr. Hetrick not only led the fiduciary responsibilities of the board, but also used his expertise in communications to share ANR Foundation’s untold successes to raise funds that enable ANR/F to continue expand its work in closing the gap on smokefree protections.
Sharon Eubanks, JD, Board Chair, served as lead counsel on behalf of the United States in the largest civil Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) enforcement action ever filed, United States v. Philip Morris USA, et al., the federal tobacco litigation. Ms. Eubanks continues to provide ANR/F with her legal and strategic expertise in combatting the tobacco industry’s predatory tactics. Ms. Eubanks has served on the ANR/F Board of Directors since 2009, and has served as Secretary and most recently, the Vice Chair.
Joel Dunnington, MD, Vice Chair, uses his decades experience in medicine and as a professor to advocate for tobacco control policies, having seen firsthand the impact of smoking and secondhand smoke on the health and safety of individuals. Dr. Dunnington has served on the ANR/F Board of Directors since 2011, and was previously the Board Secretary.
Roman Bowser, MBA, Treasurer, previously served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Heart Association, Western States Affiliate. Given his background in economics, business, and development, Mr. Bowser will be helping ANR/F to expand the organization’s financial sustainability to support the smokefree movement and local coalitions across the country. Mr. Bowser has served on the ANR/F Board of Directors since 2015.
Stella Bialous, RN, DrPH, Secretary, is an Associate Professor at the University of California, San Francisco, and is a Consultant with the World Health Organization on tobacco control. Dr. Bialous continues to promote ANR/F’s policy data and partnerships with researchers across the country. Dr. Bialous has served on ANR/F’s Board of Directors since 2008.
NEW BOARD DIRECTORS
Philip Huang, MD, MPH, is the Director of Health Authority with Dallas County Health and Human Services. Given his role and experience, Dr. Huang will support ANR/F’s work in expanding smokefree protections in Texas and work throughout the country with local health departments. — “I have long been a fan of ANR/F, and I truly appreciate the leadership the organization has provided since the early years to protect non-smokers from secondhand smoke. The resources, support, and information from ANR/F have been so important to supporting smoke and tobacco-free policies throughout the country at every level – local, state, and national.”
Stasha Rhodes, JD, has been a long-term partner of ANR/F, in her previous work on tobacco control in Louisiana, one of ANR/F’s priority states. Ms. Rhodes continued to connect the lessons learned from the tobacco control movement to other social issues, like gun control, and in her role on the ANR/F Board will help to create connections between our movement and the larger issues of equity and health equity. — “I am honored to join the outstanding ANR/F board. For more than 45 years ANR has been on the front lines of educating the public about the health effects of secondhand smoke and the benefits of smokefree environments. I am passionate about ANR’s mission to create a smokefree generation of Americans that rejects tobacco. We can and will defeat Big tobacco one and for all.”
Steve Schueth brings decades of experience as an expert in financial services and is a recognized national leader in Sustainable, Responsible, Impact investing. Mr. Schueth returns to the ANR/F Board, where he has been instrumental in helping ANR/F’s leverage shareholder activism as a tool for encouraging businesses to adopt smokefree policies. — “I am very grateful that so many places I visit in this country are free from second hand smoke. Of course, I choose to only go where the air is clean and the breathing easy — most of the time. Unfortunately there are times when I find myself someplace where every breath one takes could be toxic. I feel bad for those who must live and work in any environment where breathing second-hand smoke is normal. The work that ANR/F has done over the past four decades and continues to do to provide for smoke-free shared spaces is invaluable and indispensable for millions. I am proud to contribute to future success as I can.”
Missy Tracy is the Municipal Relations Coordinator at Ho-Chunk Gaming Madison in Wisconsin. Ms. Tracy has been working with ANR/F to promote the success of smokefree Tribal casinos and has become a spokesperson for encouraging Tribes and casinos to adopt smokefree policies. — “It is my privilege to join the ANR/F board. Among my board service, as an Indigenous person, it is my wish to continue to help inform on the differences of traditional and commercial tobacco and their uses. Traditional tobacco in its purest form, is held sacred for most Native people and carries a cultural and spiritual meaning. It has been used as an offering for a variety of traditional and ceremonial purposes for centuries. Commercial tobacco is very different from traditional tobacco. To paraphrase keepitsacred.itcmi.org, ‘Commercial tobacco is manufactured by companies for recreational and habitual use . . . It contains thousands of chemicals and produces over 7,000 chemical compounds when burned, many of which are carcinogenic . . .’ I am a proponent for eliminating indoor air pollutants, to improve air quality, which includes a smokefree and healthy environment for all to enjoy. A smokefree environment is taking care of Mother Earth and all her people.”
Please visit our ANR Foundation website no-smoke.org and the ANR website nonsmokersrights.org for bios and to learn more about our Board of Directors. If you would like to volunteer to join ANR/F’s Board of Directors or one of its Committees, please contact me at: Cynthia.Hallett@no-smoke.org.
ABOUT US
The American Nonsmokers’ Rights (ANR) Foundation is a 501(c)3, educational nonprofit organization, which creates comprehensive programs to prevent the harmful effects of secondhand smoke and smoking among youth and adults. Incorporated in 1984, the organization has more than 35 years of experience promoting prevention and education about smoking, secondhand smoke, and exposing tobacco industry interference with public health policies. Our goals include educating the public about the health effects of secondhand smoke and the benefits of smokefree environments. Ultimately, our efforts are intended to create a smokefree generation of Americans that rejects tobacco use and is savvy to tobacco industry tactics. For more information, please visit no-smoke.org.
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Americans for Nonsmoker’s Rights (ANR) is a member-supported, nonprofit 501(c)4 advocacy group that has been working for 45 years, since 1976, to protect everyone’s right to breathe nontoxic air in workplaces and public places, from offices and airplanes to restaurants, bars, and casinos. ANR has continuously shined a light on the tobacco industry’s interference with sound and life-saving public health measures and successfully protected 61% of the population with local or statewide smokefree workplace, restaurant, and bar law. ANR aims to close gaps in smokefree protections for workers in all workplaces, including bars, music venues, casinos, and hotels. For more information, please visit nonsmokersrights.org.
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