Achieving a Healthier Campus by Going Tobacco-Free

Dr. Elizabeth K. Do is research faculty (rank: instructor) within the Department of Health Behavior and Policy at Virginia Commonwealth University. She has a PhD in Clinical and Translational Sciences, focused on psychiatric, behavioral, and statistical genetics and a Masters of Public Health, concentrated on social behavioral health sciences and epidemiology from Virginia Commonwealth University. Prior to this, she received her BA in Foreign Affairs from the University of Virginia. She and her colleague, Dr. Bernard Fuemmeler, received one of the American Cancer Society’s Tobacco Free Generation Campus Initiative Grants, of which she will be discussing in her presentation. Her research focuses on identification of genetic, environmental, and social factors associated with tobacco use behaviors in youth and adolescence and determining effects that tobacco smoke exposure have on future health outcomes, including cancer. Dr. Do also is a member of the Tobacco Free Alliance of Virginia and serves on the Virginia Tobacco Free Higher Education Summit and Eliminate Tobacco Use Mid-Atlantic Summit Steering Committees, which all focus on the promotion of policies focused on tobacco prevention and control.

Joseph Lee is originally from Madison County, NC. He attended Duke University for an undergraduate degree in Spanish and Latin American Studies. He has an MPH in maternal and child health and a PhD in health behavior from the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. Joseph is now an Associate Professor in the Department of Health Education and Promotion, College of Health and Human Performance, where he conducts research on tobacco prevention and control and LGBT health inequities.

Natalie Macias is the Associate Director of Health Promotion Services at the University of San Francisco. She spearheaded the implementation of Breathe Easy USF, the university’s tobacco-free policy initiated on August 1, 2017, along with the Smoke & Tobacco Free Ambassadors. In addition to assisting students with positive behavior change on the USF campus through many diverse programs, Macias is a mentor and a soccer coach for both the USF Women’s Club Soccer team and the SF nonprofit, Girls Leading Girls. As a constant advocate of health who carries a can-do attitude in everything she puts her mind toward, Macias leads others to reach their own health potential with encouragement and inspiration to succeed. She received her MSBH degree from the School of Nursing and Health Professions and USF and is now pursuing her EdD in organization and leadership with the School of Education.

Bidisha Sinha, MPH, is the Director of Tobacco Control Initiatives for the Center for Tobacco Control at the American Cancer Society. In this role, Ms. Sinha coordinates internal initiatives of the Center for Tobacco Control and is directly involved in planning, implementing, evaluating and monitoring these efforts. She also represents the Society externally through collaborative initiatives; coalitions; and national, state and local presentations. Currently, among other things, she is leading the Tobacco-Free Generation Campus Initiative, an ACS program dedicated to increasing the adoption and implementation of 100% smoke- and tobacco-free policies on colleges and universities, nationwide, and globally.

Prior to joining ACS, Ms. Sinha served in the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services’ Office of the Assistant Secretary for Health, in Region V, where she oversaw programs related to tobacco control and childhood obesity prevention. In support of HHS’s leadership role in the national Tobacco-Free College Campus Initiative, she served for three years as a regional and national point person and coordinator responsible for developing and executing strategies to engage colleges and universities in the adoption and implementation of 100% tobacco-free campus policies. As the Regional Advisor for the Let’s Move! Cities, Towns and Counties Initiative, she engaged in partnerships with local elected officials to help lower childhood obesity rates in their communities and was recognized for her work with an invitation to the White House to meet, then, first lady, Michelle Obama.