Christina Thill is the Section Manager of the Minnesota Department of Health’s (MDH) Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Control Section. She leads a highly skilled team working to advance policy, systems and environmental changes, youth initiatives, community grant programs, communications, surveillance and evaluation, and statewide cessation services. In her role, Christina manages $17 million in federal and state funds, state and local policy development and implementation, strategic planning, launching new statewide initiatives, and overseeing technical assistance and training efforts.

Christina’s dedication and passion for commercial tobacco prevention and treatment includes over 30 years working at the state health department and two local health departments. Christina’s state experience includes developing agency policy proposals, implementing statewide policy initiatives including Tobacco 21, smoke-free bars, restaurants, and housing efforts including the statewide implementation of the HUD rule. She has extensive grant management experience with launching many new grant programs to prevent and address commercial tobacco use. Christina collaborates with state and community partners to advance the bold actions in the Minnesota Comprehensive Tobacco Control Framework.

She launched her public health career working for two local public health departments directing a local ASSIST coalition where she developed a passion for coalition building, policy advocacy, youth engagement, and community organizing.

Christina is the Chair Elect of the ASTHO’s Tobacco Control Network (TCN) 2026-2027. She previously served in various TCN roles including Member Engagement Chair, Policy Coordinator, and Regional Representative. She participated in the 2014 CDC Leadership and Sustainability School Cohort and developed strong relationships and friendships with her fellow state commercial tobacco prevention and control colleagues.

In her spare time, she enjoys running, biking, and exploring Minnesota’s parks and trail system.

Vicki Huntington has been involved with tobacco prevention and control for over 26 years.  She started with the movement in 1997 at the American Lung Association of Gulfcoast Florida and has been the Section Chief/State Program Manager for the Wisconsin Commercial Tobacco Prevention and Treatment Program since 2007 at the Department of Health Services.  Prior to that, she had been the Policy Analyst, Youth Programs Coordinator and Disparities Coordinator from 2001 to 2007.  Vicki has a vast array of experience from strategic planning, building and maintaining relationships with local, state and national partners on collaborations from policy and program development across the comprehensive approach to program implementation.  Through this public health policy work, Vicki has been involved with WI passing and implementing a statewide smoke free air law and two major tax increases that have resulted in youth and adult smoking rates to drop significantly.  Vicki is very passionate about addressing the tobacco-related disparities that exist because of the tobacco industry’s historical targeting of marginalized communities and looks for opportunities of research, pilot projects, and promising approaches to address those tobacco-related disparities.

Besides Vicki’s commitment to public health, she has a degree in Arts Management, worked in theatre management for 12 years and has a passion for the arts being an integral part of a community.  Vicki looks for any opportunity to combine the arts and public health which might be through creative development of paid media campaigns as well as youth and young adult educational advocacy engagement.

Vicki enjoys life in the country with her husband, two dogs and cat while sharing their property with wildlife such as deer, turkeys, bobcats, coyotes, fox, opossums, raccoons, and a wide variety of birds.  She also enjoys the arts, sporting events, and nature activities with her daughter and two bonus sons as well as travel to visit them.  Her favorite travel locations are Alaska and Norway for the mountains, northern lights, and dog sled racing.

Mike Sheldon is the Commercial Tobacco Cessation Communications Coordinator at the Minnesota Department of Health and has more than 20 years of experience in commercial tobacco control. Before joining MDH, he served as Marketing Director at ClearWay Minnesota, an independent nonprofit dedicated to reducing tobacco-related harm across the state.

In his role at MDH, Mike oversees marketing, outreach, and promotion for Quit Partner, the state’s free commercial tobacco treatment program. He brings a background in advertising and public relations to his public health work, using strategic communication to expand access to treatment support, strengthen public health communications and drive engagement across diverse communities. Mike also serves as Quit Partner’s media spokesperson, completing numerous television, radio, and newspaper interviews to raise awareness about the program.

Ron Davis has been with the Florida Department of Health, Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida for 23 years.  He currenlty serves as the State and Community Interventions Tobacco Policy Section Manager. Ron supervises staff who work with the community-based tobacco intervention providers in each of the tobacco policy focus areas in all 67 counties in Florida. He has presented at 9 national tobacco control conferences and two international tobacco conferences.  He has been an invited presenter for state tobacco control program conferences in three states. Mr. Davis coordinates tobacco control activities, advocacy initiatives and policy work at the state level and provides technical assistance and training to county level tobacco staff statewide.

Liz Johnson is the Director of the Tobacco Use Prevention and Control Program at the Tennessee Department of Health Services, serving in this capacity since October 2018. Liz possesses a broad set of skills in program management, community engagement, and leadership across the complete spectrum of stakeholders, including local, state, and national partners. Liz oversees all commercial tobacco and electronic vapor product prevention and cessation activities for youth and adults. Liz is a team player who is well-versed in building consensus around a common set of public health priorities and strategies. As tobacco use continues to be the leading cause of disease-related death in Tennessee, her current focus is to reduce commercial tobacco use among communities most disproportionately impacted and address the alarming rise in vape use among Tennessee youth.

Prior to this role, Liz was the Executive Director of the Sumner County Anti-Drug Coalition, served as the Program Coordinator for the Regional Intervention Program in Franklin, Tennessee, and taught elementary school for four years in Hendersonville, Tennessee.

Liz obtained a Bachelor of Science in Education from Middle Tennessee State University and a Master of Public Health from Walden University.

In her free time, she enjoys cooking, reading, and spending time with her husband, twin daughters, and boxer, Rudy.

Sally Petty has worked in commercial tobacco control since 2008, starting as a local coalition coordinator, then serving since 2014 as a Regional Program Director in Indiana Department of Health’s Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Division. Sally has a bachelor’s degree in English and writing and a Master of Public Health in Public Health Administration from Indiana University. She is also a graduate of CDC Office on Smoking and Health’s Leadership and Sustainability School and Tobacco Control Action Planning Academy. She has worked directly with several community-level efforts, including successes with a comprehensive smoke-free ordinance in a town of less than 5,000 people and two smoke-free casino policies, the first of their kind in the state of Indiana. Her experience also includes statewide and national roles, such as serving on the Indiana Department of Health’s Health Equity Council, building collaborative partnerships with a variety of groups most impacted by commercial tobacco, and leading Indiana’s No Barriers, Just Better Health project to expand access to cessation and cancer screening services for people with disabilities. Sally is passionate about advancing opportunities for health for those who are often left out of public health initiatives. In her spare time, Sally enjoys trail riding and Competitive Mounted Orienteering with her horses, teaching yoga, walking her two dogs, reading, and knitting.

Terry Rousey serves as Associate Director of Statewide Initiatives at the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust (TSET), providing strategic leadership to advance Oklahoma’s health outcomes. He guides large-scale initiatives through a collaborative, data-driven approach, ensuring measurable impact, strong partnerships, and a clear return on investment for the state’s health priorities.

Carrie Dahlquist is Manager of DC Health’s Tobacco and Nicotine Prevention and Cessation Programs, overseeing initiatives to reduce the harm of tobacco through prevention, cessation, and secondhand smoke exposure, and reducing disparities related to tobacco use. In this roll, she works with local and national organizations, clinical providers, and academic institutions to implement policy, systems, and environmental change interventions. Ms. Dahlquist brings over 20 years’ experience in public health with national organizations including the American Cancer Society and the Alzheimer’s Association and as the coordinator of the DC Health Comprehensive Cancer Control Program. She received an MPH from University of Massachusetts, holds a bachelor’s degree in government and history from University of Louisiana, and will complete a doctorate in public health from Tulane University School of Public Health and Tropical Medicine in December.

Sarah Cattie serves as the Program Administrator for the Tobacco Prevention and Control Program within the Delaware Division of Public Health. Since July 2023, she has applied her deep commitment to public health to advance tobacco prevention initiatives across the state. With 18 years of service as a State of Delaware employee, Sarah brings nine years of specialized experience in federal grant management. Her background includes overseeing behavioral traffic safety programs at the Office of Highway Safety and roles within the Department of Transportation.  Sarah has her B.A. in Communications.

Sarah is driven by a passion for health equity and clear communication; in August 2025, she earned her Health Literacy Specialist certification through IHA. Additionally, she has been a Certified Child Passenger Safety Technician since 2017 and a CPST Instructor since 2022. Sarah lives on a little slice of heaven in rural Delaware with her husband, two boys and an assortment of rescued dogs and cats.  She loves to read, bake and improve her gardening skills.

Robert Ostbye has worked for the Bureau of Tobacco Free Florida at the Florida Department of Health for ten years; originally as local tobacco prevention program manager for a county health department before transitioning to a state-level role in 2017. He currently serves as a statewide policy manager, responsible for coordinating policy, systems, and environmental change interventions at the state and local level. In this role, Robert develops and manages policy initiatives for community-based tobacco prevention programs in each of our 67 counties.

Under his leadership, TFF’s community-based programs are gaining traction in the effort to establish comprehensive tobacco free school policies across the state. He also oversees Florida’s Online Tobacco Education Courses for students, educators, and nurses; provided through the School Board of Palm Beach County’s Tobacco Prevention Program. Robert is particularly passionate about establishing collaborative partnerships across agencies, sectors, and state lines to advance key tobacco prevention objectives.

Miranda Spitznagle has served as the Director for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation at the Indiana Department of Health since 2012.  She previously served as the Director of Program Evaluation for the Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, formerly the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency.   She has 25 years of experience in tobacco control program administration, public health policy, strategic planning, and grant management. Miranda has previously served on the Tobacco Control Network Executive Committee (2013-16; Chair-elect to past-chair) and the North American Quitline Consortium Board of Directors (2017-2023). She holds a Master of Public Health degree from Indiana University and a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry from Purdue University. She is currently working on a graduate certificate in philanthropic fundraising at the IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy. She and her husband live in Indianapolis with their three sons.

Tabetha Gerdner is the Tobacco Program Manager for the Iowa Department of Health and Human Services, where she oversees statewide tobacco prevention and control efforts, including youth engagement initiatives, Quitline services, and smoke-free policy programs. She collaborates with community organizations, health systems, and state and federal partners to advance prevention, early intervention and behavioral health initiatives across Iowa.

With more than a decade of experience in public health, Tabetha has played a key role in aligning Iowa’s prevention and early intervention strategies with the state’s new Behavioral Health Service System. Her leadership focuses on building systems that are data-driven, equitable, and sustainable.

Tabetha is also passionate about authentic leadership and youth empowerment. She has assisted in leading statewide youth summits, trained hundreds of local providers, and developed guidance frameworks that are now used across Iowa’s behavioral health and prevention systems.

When she’s not working on policy and program design, Tabetha enjoys spending time with her family at the lake, boating and running!

Micah Zimmermaker serves as the Youth Commercial Tobacco Prevention Coordinator with the Youth Cannabis and Commercial Tobacco Prevention Program in Washington State. In this role, he oversees six local health jurisdictions, encompassing 23 counties, that lead regional youth commercial tobacco and cannabis prevention efforts across the state. He also sits as a founding steering committee member and supporting healthy youth workgroup member within the statewide Washington Breathes tobacco prevention coalition. Previously, Micah has worked for Los Angeles County and the City of Long Beach to implement policies focused on smokefree environments, including: dining, housing, and health department facilities. Including his current role, Micah has worked in public health and prevention for nearly two decades, with half of that time focused on commercial tobacco control.

Lily Banning is a policy strategist, committed to elevating community-driven approaches to improving public health. She currently serves as a Tobacco Policy Analyst with the Oregon Health Authority – Public Health Division. In her role, Lily develops and evaluates statewide policy solutions, supports partner engagement and advises on program strategies to reduce use, access and exposure to commercial tobacco in Oregon.

She previously led statewide policy and partnership development for improved cardiovascular health as the Community Impact Director with the American Heart Association, Oregon and SW Washington. She is a graduate of University of California, Santa Cruz. She is a painter, surfer, proud mama and fierce advocate for community health.