2020 class of truth Ambassadors launch community projects

Eleven young leaders from across the country are designing and executing local projects to inspire tobacco-free communities as the newest class of truth^® Ambassadors.

The year-long immersive leadership program will educate and train the group of 18- to 25-year-olds on the public health impact of tobacco and e-cigarettes, the importance of community and youth engagement, and tobacco policy and advocacy. The program will help them develop leadership and community activism skills while providing financial support to create and promote their projects.  

As one of the youth leadership programs at Truth Initiative^®, truth Ambassadors have previous experience with tobacco control advocacy, are passionate about mobilizing their peers and making their communities tobacco-free. Six of the ambassadors were previously Truth Initiative college leaders, students at colleges and universities who undergo training in tobacco prevention campaigns and leadership development to organize their peers and build a movement to become a tobacco-free campus.

Brandon Harden
Berkeley, California 

Brandon will produce a tobacco training module for incoming students at University of California Berkeley that has the potential to reach at least 500,000 students.

Zoe Moreau
Warwick, Rhode Island

Zoe plans to create a tobacco awareness art project installed in the queer living spaces at Roger Williams University and facilitate conversations with residents and allies about the history of Big Tobacco and the LGBTQ community.

Caleb Wulff
Tucson, Arizona

Caleb will launch tobacco awareness clubs at two local high schools modeled after the club he created at his school.

Josh Arinze
Baltimore, Maryland

Josh plans to host a series of social meetups for immigrants in Baltimore that will educate them on the history of Big Tobacco and their populations.

Crosby Lambert
Huntsville, Alabama

Crosby is designing a social media challenge with on-the-ground components — inspired by the truth “Ready to Ditch JUUL” TikTok challenge and other social media content — to raise awareness of the harms of vaping. 

Allison Cole
Birmingham, Alabama

Allison is creating a YouTube channel that breaks down tobacco marketing and will directly share it with youth in her community.

Alexis Phipps
Connell, Washington

Alexis will host a contest for middle and high school students in her community in which contestants create a video that addresses how Big Tobacco has targeted young adults with flavored tobacco products. 

Bria Gamble
Huntsville, Alabama

Bria is using her platform as an HBCU queen at Oakwood University to host a series of conversations to encourage students to talk to older family members about how Big Tobacco has targeted African Americans and share resources to quit. 

Devaughn White
Duncanville, Texas

Devaughn will create a traveling escape room with a theme that reflects the generation to end smoking.

Ann Marie Noe
Newburyport, Massachusetts

Ann Marie will create content and a corresponding social media campaign to spread information about vaping to youth.

Elizabeth Esqueda
Oakland, California

Elizabeth will complete a research project on JUUL from a young adult perspective.