Michael Fiore, University of Wisconsin Hilldale Professor of Medicine, founded and has served as Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTRI) since it was established in 1992. Fiore served as chair of the panels that produced the United States Public Health Service (PHS) Clinical Practice Guidelines: Treating Tobacco Use and Dependence in 1996, 2000, and 2008. Dr. Fiore chaired the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Subcommittee on Tobacco Cessation of the Interagency Committee on Smoking and Health that produced a comprehensive plan for promoting tobacco cessation in the United States. In 2005, Dr. Fiore was asked by the United States Justice Department as part of their landmark lawsuit against the tobacco industry to craft a $130 billion, 25-year plan to assist 33 million smokers to quit. During his long and distinguished medical and public health career at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, he has served as Principal Investigator on five consecutive NIH Center grants and was an inaugural recipient of a National Cancer Institute Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) in 2015. He is the recipient of numerous awards and honors. In 2012, he was elected to the National Academy of Medicine (formerly, Institute of Medicine).

Joann Kang is the Team Lead for Health Systems and Data Visualization, which is housed in the Policy Unit of the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH) at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). In this capacity, Joann provides leadership to inform development and implementation of health systems strategies to increase tobacco cessation. In addition, she also oversees legal analysis and publication of state legislation pertaining to tobacco control and prevention.

Joann has been with CDC since 2012. Her cumulative experience while working at the Agency has included serving as a liaison with Congressional offices, establishing and strengthening partnerships with both federal and external organizations, budget formulation, project management on health policy initiatives, and helping to inform the Agency’s response to the nation’s opioid overdose epidemic.

As a member of the State Bar of Georgia, Joann began her career as an attorney—first as a Pro Bono Fellow in a private law firm and then serving as a staff attorney with a non-profit, medical-legal collaborative representing children and their families. Following her legal work, Joann worked as a policy analyst and lobbyist on children’s health issues with a Georgia-based non-profit policy and advocacy organization.

Joann received her B.S. in Advertising from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and her J.D. from Emory University School of Law.

Chad Morris, Ph.D. is a licensed clinical psychologist and Professor of Psychiatry at the University of Colorado- School of Medicine. At CU he is the Director of the Behavioral Health & Wellness Program (BHWP) and Wellness Leadership Institute. BHWP also houses the Rocky Mountain Tobacco Treatment Specialist Program. Dr. Morris is the principal investigator of over 140 projects and studies exploring the effectiveness of organizational, psychosocial, and pharmacologic whole health and tobacco cessation strategies across over 44 states and internationally. Dr. Morris is a seasoned Motivational Interviewing trainer and member of the MI Network of Trainers (MINT). As the Vice President of Spark Inspiration, Dr. Morris also offers corporate wellness solutions.