Agenda
Day 1 – Tuesday, November 19, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 p.m.
- 9:00 a.m.
- Land acknowledgment
- Welcome with Paul Knepprath, Project Director, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- Overview of the Institute
- 9:15 a.m.
- Organizing to End the Tobacco Epidemic in California with Nykeia Harris, Program Consultant, California Tobacco Prevention Program
- 9:25 a.m.
- Guest Speaker: Institute Alum with Raider Fowler
- 9:35 a.m.
- What’s Your Story? Know your “Why”
- Power of Poetry
- Group Reflection, Conversation
- 10:10 a.m.
- Leadership Module with Eric Batch, Region VP, Field Advocacy, American Heart Association
- 11:30 a.m.
- Guest Speaker: Leadership in Action TBD
- 11:40 a.m. | Lunch Break
- 12:40 p.m.
- Endgame Center Orientation with Kathy “Toki” Ko, Organizing & Engagement Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- 1:15 p.m.
- Prioritizing Tobacco as a Social Justice Issue to Advance Health Equity with Kathy “Toki” Ko and Ryan Oda, Program Coordinator, WeBreathe
- 2:40 p.m.
- Reflection, Conversation
- 3:00 p.m.
- Wrap up with Paul Knepprath, Project Director, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
Day 2 – Wednesday, November 20, 2024
9:00 a.m. – 3:00 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
- 10:00 a.m.
- What is Advocacy & The Campaign Playbook with Paul Knepprath
- 10:15 a.m.
- Organizing and Building Communities with Juan Villa and Madison Bible
- Small Group Breakouts
- Reflection, Conversation
- 12:00 p.m. | Lunch Break
- 1:00 p.m.
- Effective Engagement and Communication for Campaign Success with Shannon Lujan, Media Relations Manager, Tobacco Endgame Center for Organizing & Engagement
- The Public, The Policy Making Body, The Press
- Small Group Breakout Activity
- 2:30 p.m. Sharing Your Action Plan
- Small group breakout
- Sharing Your Plan
- 2:45 p.m.
- Next Steps and Follow up with Juan Villa
- 3:00 p.m.
- Final Reflections and Next Steps with Paul Knepprath
- Group Photo!
Guest Speakers
Ryan Oda, (he/they)
We Breathe Program Coordinator
California LGBTQ+ Health and Human Services Network
Ryan Oda (he/they) is the We Breathe Program Coordinator at the CA LGBTQ+ HHS Network, where they work to empower CTPP-funded projects to engage the LGBTQ+ Community in statewide and local tobacco prevention efforts. Ryan previously worked at OUT Against Big Tobacco Los Angeles advocating for LGBTQ+ Communities and tobacco retail licenses in Los Angeles County. He has expertise in tobacco policy, and LGBTQ+ tobacco prevention education. Ryan earned their Bachelor in Political Science from Cal State Long Beach in 2019.
Madison Bible
Program Coordinator
Shasta County Public Health
Madison Bible started in the Tobacco Education Program three years ago. The only knowledge she had of tobacco prevention before starting, came from her time overseeing the local household hazardous waste program. During her time as the Tobacco Education Program Coordinator, she has worked with the Shasta County Tobacco Education Coalition to collect over, her team collected over 285 signatures of support and letters of support from the local high school district, numerous high schools, doctors, and local non-profit organizations. Her Coalition hosted a “Vaping and Our Youth-An Educational Summit” where local school and elected officials were in attendance. Members of the Coalition conducted an educational presentation for City Council members in October of 2023. The Coalition has been back three different times since then to provide public comment. In November, the City will hear samples of what it can do regarding passing a policy to help protect the youth in their community.”.
Helen Tran
Mayor of San Bernadino, CA
San Bernardino Mayor Helen Tran made history in 2022 when she became the city’s first Asian American mayor. Tran is also the first Vietnamese American woman to hold that title in any U.S. city.
The daughter of Vietnamese refugees in search of the American Dream, Helen was born in San Diego, CA and has lived in San Bernardino, CA since age 6. She graduated from Cajon High School in 2000. Helen is the first person in her family to graduate from college and received a Bachelor’s degree in American Studies with a minor in Education from the University of California at Santa Cruz.
With a lifelong passion for civic engagement, Helen began her career as an organizer for candidates for local, statewide, and Congressional offices. As a teenager at Cajon High School in 1999, Helen walked into a campaign office with her fellow Key Club members to volunteer. By the time she left for college, Helen had become a canvass director.
After working throughout Southern California as an organizer, Helen moved back to San Bernardino in 2006 to be closer to her family. In 2006, Helen began working for the City of San Bernardino as the Executive Assistant to the Director
of Human Resources.
Ten years later, Helen became the youngest Director of Human Resources for the City of San Bernardino. She persevered through challenging political climates in City Hall, the financial crash in 2008, the dissolution of the City’s redevelopment agency, a newly adopted City Charter in 2016, and bankruptcy.
Helen faced the City’s challenges head-on, and never stopped looking forward to what San Bernardino could be, while so many others focused on what it had been.
Lu Orona
Network Organizer
The LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network
Lu Lukah Orona (he/they) is the Network Organizer for The LGBTQ Health and Human Services Network, a role they stepped into in
August 2024 after previously serving as the Communications Intern under We Breathe. Since joining the team, Lu has contributed to educational materials, written content such as Op-Eds, and the development of panel discussions for community forums, all focusing on reducing healthcare disparities for LGBTQIA+ individuals. As a trans person of color, Lu is committed to advocating for those who are negatively targeted and systemically erased. Outside of advocacy, Lu enjoys exploring nature, watching anime, and sharing their life with their partner and their beloved family of 40 pets.