Welcome Campaign Organizing and Leadership Institute participants! You will find all that you need to effectively participate in the Institute, November 19-20, 2024. First thing, bookmark this page now since it is not accessible via the Center’s homepage.
Pre-Institute Action Items
- All participants must be registered on Zoom. Make sure to register here.
- Review the Agenda below and note the Pre-Institute work materials under Institute Materials. You have a bit of homework to do!
Please send any questions to Paul Knepprath, at [email protected].
Agenda
Day 1 – Tuesday, November 19, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 3:20 p.m.
- 9:00 a.m.
- Land acknowledgment
- Welcome with Nicole Graumann, Mendocino Co. Program Specialist II, Mendocino County Public Health
and Laura King, Sr. Director, Public Health Program Implementation, American Heart Association, Principal Investigator for California Tobacco End Game Center for Organizing and Engagement - Overview of the Institute
- 9:15 a.m.
- Organizing to End the Tobacco Epidemic in California with Beth Olagues, Assistant Branch Chief, California Tobacco Prevention Program
- 9:30 a.m.
- What’s Your Story? Know your “Why” with Amy Shope Manzi, National Vice President, Grassroots American Heart Association
- Break-out groups
- Group Reflection, Conversation
- 10:40 a.m.
- Your Action Plan with Lori Bremner, Organizing & Engagement Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- 10:45 a.m.
- Guest Speaker: Institute Alum with Nicole Graumann, Mendocino Co.
- 11:00 a.m. | Break
- 11:15 a.m.
- Leadership Module with Eric Batch, Region VP, Field Advocacy, American Heart Association
- Small Group Breakout
- Reflection, Conversation
- Power of Poetry with Ryon Everidge, Music Artist
- Q&A
- Small Group Breakout Activity
- Reflection, Conversation
- 12:30 p.m. | Lunch Break
- 1:15 p.m.
- Prioritizing Tobacco as a Social Justice Issue to Advance Health Equity with Kathy “Toki” Ko, Organizing & Engagement Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- 3:00 p.m.
- Reflection, Conversation
- 3:15 p.m.
- Your Action Plan with Lori Bremner
- 3:20 p.m.
- Wrap up with Laura King
Day 2 – Wednesday, November 20, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 3:15 p.m.
- 9:00 a.m.
- Welcome with Paul Knepprath, Project Director, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- Reflections, Questions
- Review the Day’s Schedule
- 9:15 a.m.
- Networking
- 9:45 a.m.
- Organizing and Building Communities with Lori Bremner
- Small Group Breakouts with Kathy “Toki” Ko
- Reflection, Conversation with Juan Villa, Organizing & Engagement Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- 12:00 p.m. | Lunch Break
- 12:45 p.m.
- Communications with Shannon Lujan, Media Relations Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- Spokesperson Training
- The Public, The Policy Making Body, The Press
- Small Group Breakout Activity
- 2:30 p.m. | Break
- 2:45 p.m.
- Developing Your Action Plan with Lori Bremner
- Small group breakout
- Sharing Your Plan
- 3:15 p.m.
- Final Reflections and Next Steps with Paul Knepprath
- Group Photo!
Guest Speakers
Beth Olagues, MPH (she/her)
Assistant Branch Chief
California Tobacco Prevention Program
Beth Olagues started her career as an Emergency Medical Technician. After years of seeing people experiencing their worst days with illness, injury, and chronic disease, she decided to shift to a career in prevention. Beth has worked in tobacco control since 2009 as a college health educator, tobacco cessation counselor, and a program coordinator for several public health non-profit organizations. She joined the California Tobacco Control Program in 2015, where she is currently serving as the Assistant Branch Chief. Beth’s areas of focus in tobacco prevention have included advancing tobacco cessation, behavioral health initiatives, and the tobacco endgame. Her expertise includes social norms and policy, systems, and environmental change. Beth has a Bachelor of Science in Health Science, and a Master of Public Health.
Nicole Graumann
Program Specialist II
Mendocino County Public Health
Nicole Graumann, Pomo from Redwood Valley Rancheria in Mendocino County. I was born and raised in Mendocino County in a traditional Native American household by my mother. I then moved on to attend Humboldt State University where I received a BA in History and BA in Native American Studies. Finally completing a MA in History with an emphasis in American Indian Domestic Policy from the University of Oklahoma at Norman. Since completing her education Nicole has returned to Mendocino County spending time on her tribal council as a member at large as well as a representative to American Indian Congress. I have been a proud employee of Mendocino County since 2013, starting her career as an eligibility specialist before moving into Project Coordinator for Tobacco Prevention program for the last year.
Amy Shope Manzi
National Vice President, Grassroots
American Heart Association
Amy Shope Manzi is the National Vice President, Grassroots for the American Heart Association. There, she oversees a talented team of grassroots advocacy professionals and the Association’s signature grassroots program- You’re the Cure, made up of hundreds of thousands of heart disease and stroke patients, survivors, caregivers, researchers and medical professionals passionate about creating healthier communities through public policy. Early in her career, Amy held a series of political and governmental jobs, where she discovered and cultivated a passion for citizen engagement. Amy lives in a small college-town in Western Pennsylvania with her husband and two teenage children. She sits on the board of nonprofit soccer organization and plays in an adult soccer league, frequently attempts to golf, and is always up for an adventure.
Priya Raman
SPARC Program Coordinator
Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy and Leadership (APPEAL)
Priya Raman identifies as Indo-Fijian (a diasporic community based in the Fiji Islands) and a first-generation college graduate from California State University, East Bay with a B.S. in Health Sciences-Concentration in Public Health. She currently works at the Asian Pacific Partners for Empowerment, Advocacy, and Leadership (APPEAL) as a Program Coordinator for the Statewide Pacific Islander Asian American Resource and Coordinating Center (SPARC). Priya’s interest lies in representing underserved AA and NHPI communities’ health through community engagement research, advocacy, and health education with a passion for creating more culturally competent resources for the community. Her interest in public health started with the opportunity to work with her mentor, Dr. Arnab Mukherjea on a Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR) project researching the barriers and facilitators around colorectal cancer screening among Indo-Fijians and Pakistanis in Northern California and other various projects to better the needs of the underserved South Asian communities. Priya also serves as the current Program Director for the Asian Pacific Islander Caucus in official affiliations with the American Public Health Association. She aspires to get her master’s in public health in Health and Social Behavior and hopes to use her voice to inspire others in her community to advocate for health and representation
Ryan Oda
We Breathe Tobacco Program Coordinator
California LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network
Ryan Oda (he/him) is the We Breathe Coordinator for The California LGBTQ HHS Network, working to reduce tobacco’s impact on the LGBTQ+ Community. Ryan’s interest in public health stems from his family’s experiences with substance addiction and depression. Ryan earned his BA in Political Science at Cal State Long Beach in 2019, and has since worked in the fields of health policy, voting rights, and LGBTQ+ equity. In his free time, Ryan likes to spend time with his partner and cat Mystique.
Yaneth L. Rodriguez, MPH
Latino Coordinating Center For a Tobacco-Free California (LCC)
Center for Health Equity in the Americas
Department of Population and Public Health Sciences
Yaneth L. Rodriguez, MPH works with the University of Southern California (USC) under the leadership and guidance of Dr. Lourdes Baezconde-Garbanati. Yaneth is a regional coordinator with the Latino Coordinating Center for a Tobacco-Free California (LCC) funded by the California Tobacco Control Program, and a project manager on two research studies that examine secondhand smoke exposure in multi-unit housing, tenant and landlord’s knowledge, beliefs, attitudes, behaviors, compliance, and support for smoke free policies in Los Angeles County. She has more than 15 years of experience in tobacco control and research. Yaneth earned her B.S. in health promotion and disease prevention studies and her master of public health in the global health and leadership track from USC.