What’s Your Story, Your Why?
Personal stories are an important tool for community organizing and for connecting with decision makers. You will be given an assignment to write a personal story. We are not interested in what you do, your specific job role, but rather we’re curious about who you are. You don’t have to share your story if you’re not comfortable, but we hope that you will!
Guidance to writing a personal story: While not exhaustive, the following questions can help prompt you to tell your story.
- What experiences have most shaped your life?
- What do others need to know and understand about you?
- What do you really get excited about?
- Where are you headed?
- What are you trying to create in the world?
- What legacy would you like to leave behind?
Health Equity Module
- Read “How to Promote Racial Equity in the Workplace” by Robert Livingston published in Harvard Business Review (Sept-Oct 2020).
- Watch “Black Lives/Black Lungs”, a short film investigating the tobacco industry’s successful infiltration into the black community. Created by filmmaker and progressive communications strategist, Lincoln Mondy. Released August 2017.
- Take a look at “Casual Loop Diagram of Smoking”
Leadership Module
- Complete your leadership profile on Canva. Leadership Board
Community Organizing Module
Developing Your Action Plan
- Download Developing Your Action Plan for the last day of the Institute.
Communications Module
- Read Spokesperson Training Guide
- Read How to Use Stories to Win Your Campaign
- Watch these videos: Speaking to the Press, Speaking to the Public, and Speaking to Policymakers
For more information or questions you may have, please contact Lindsay Cunningham, at [email protected].
Kara Waples
Program Consultant at the California Department of Public Health – California Tobacco Prevention Program (CDPH/CTPP)
Kara Waples is a Senior Program Consultant at the California Department of Public Health – California Tobacco Prevention Program (CDPH/CTPP). She provides local program support, training, and technical assistance to projects and partners working to counter the tobacco industry, decrease exposure to second and thirdhand smoke, reduce the availability of tobacco products, and promote tobacco cessation. Kara is also the Program Manager for CTPP’s National Tobacco Control Program (NTCP) grant from the CDC Office of Smoking and Health (OSH). Prior to joining CTPP in 2017, she led Local Lead Agency (LLA) tobacco prevention efforts and coalition initiatives in Sutter County, CA. Waples graduated from San Diego State University with a Bachelor of Science in Public Health and is a 2026 MPH candidate and Rural Health Innovation scholar at the University of California, Berkeley.
Yaneth L. Rodriguez
Regional Coordinator for Latino Coordinating Center
Yaneth L. Rodriguez, MPH (Nahua from Kuskatan (El Salvador)) 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 several research studies at USC. She is currently helping to manage a Colorectal Cancer research project. She has also managed tobacco-related research projects such as a large-scale tobacco retail environment study, and several studies that examined 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 and serves on the California State Endgame Advisory Committee. 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.
Nicole Graumann
Project Coordinator II for Tribal Community Coordinating Center
To: su Nicole Graumann, Kasil: naop ana (my name is Nicole Graumann, I am from Redwood Valley), She/Her. I am Pomo from Redwood Valley Rancheria, I was born and raised in Mendocino County California, prior to starting at Tribal Community Coordinating Center, a project of ETR I was an employee of Mendocino County for 11 years spending time as an Eligibility Specialist and Project Director for The Mendocino County Tobacco Prevention Program. I completed my undergraduate in both History and Native American Studies at Humboldt State University, then completed my MA in History from the University of Oklahoma in 2022.
Bryan Coleman
Senior Director of We-Collab
Bryan Coleman is a seasoned leader with over 10 years of experience in facilitation, design, and organizational development, specializing in stakeholder engagement, leadership training, and strategic partnerships within the nonprofit sector. Currently serving as the Senior Director at We-Collab, Bryan has been at the forefront of designing educational initiatives that promote inclusive and engaging learning environments. His expertise lies in strategic planning, curriculum design, public speaking, and team leadership, with a strong focus on creating impactful, values-driven educational content.
Bryan’s commitment to fostering collaboration and facilitating dialogue on pressing societal issues is reflected in his work, which leads initiatives that empower leaders and build effective, resilient communities. His passion for education and social change drives his approach to thought leadership, and he is particularly dedicated to creating spaces that allow for diverse voices and perspectives.
Shakia Jackson
Health Educator and Coalition and Community Engagement Coordinator for Orange County Health Care Agency 
Shakia Jackson, DrPH, MPH, MCHES is a Health Educator and Coalition and Community Engagement Coordinator at the Orange County Health Care Agency, Tobacco Use Prevention. She coordinates the countywide Tobacco and Vape Free OC Coalition, its four city work groups in Anaheim, Garden Grove, Santa Ana and Westminster, and a local high school tobacco prevention student club. She also leads a smoke-free parks objective. Dr. Jackson has a Master of Public Health in Health Behavior and Health Education from the University of Michigan School of Public Health and a Doctor of Public Health from Tulane University, Celia Scott Weatherhead School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine.