Officers

Thomas E. Novotny, M.D., M.P.H.              President/CEO

Tom Novotny is Professor and co-director of the Joint Degree Program (PhD) in Global Health at San Diego State University. He is a medical epidemiologist and family physician specializing in health systems, non-communicable disease control, and health diplomacy. From 2002-2008, he was a Professor of Epidemiology and Biostatistics at the University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine.  Prior to his academic career, he was with the U.S. Public Health Service for 23 years, serving as a Family Physician in the National Health Service Corps, as a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's (CDC) Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer in the Colorado Department of Health, as a Medical Epidemiologist with the CDC's Office on Smoking and Health, as CDC liaison to the UC Berkeley School of Public Health, as CDC liaison to the World Bank, and as Assistant Surgeon General and Deputy Assistant Secretary for International and Refugee Health in the Clinton Administration. At UC Berkeley, he was Professor of Epidemiology and Assistant Dean for Public Health Practice. While with the World Bank, he worked on analyses of the economic aspects of tobacco and health, health systems reform in Eastern Europe, and HIV/AIDS policy. He was an editor and contributor to several Surgeon General's Reports on the Health Consequences of Smoking, and he has published widely on tobacco and health, HIV in Eastern Europe, and health diplomacy.

Raymond J. Clark, Ph.D.                            COO/Secretary

Raymond Clark is a researcher and program manager for Global Health at San Diego State University.  He has over 8 years of experience designing and managing programs in global health, crisis communication, biosecurity, national/international security policy, critical infrastructure and other health- and security-related issues.  He previously worked as a research scholar and program manager at the University of California Institute on Global Conflict and Cooperation.  Raymond served as a founding board member for the National Postdoctoral Association and has worked on numerous national/regional advisory groups on STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) workforce issues.  Raymond received his Ph.D. in Biology/Physiology from Idaho State University.

Board Members

Doug Blanke, J.D.

Doug Blanke is founder and director of the Public Health Law Center.  He oversees all its programs, with a focus on encouraging healthier lives, including work to reduce the harm caused by tobacco use, prevent childhood obesity, support healthy eating and encourage physical activity.  Doug is also executive director of the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium, America's legal network for effective tobacco control policies. Doug’s international work has included monitoring development of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control for the American Lung Association and editing the World Health Organization's handbook on tobacco control legislation.  Previously, as an assistant attorney general of the State of Minnesota, he played a key role in the historic Minnesota litigation that resulted in the release of thirty-five million pages of secret tobacco industry documents.  He was the 2004 recipient of the American Lung Association's C. Everett Koop "Unsung Hero" Award for his contributions to tobacco control.

Clifton Curtis, J.D.

Clif Curtis is a director with The Varda Group for Environment and Sustainability, offering strategic advice, services and campaign advocacy expertise across a range of environmental, health and social welfare issues, promoting maximum change for the benefit of people and the planet.  (www.vardagroup.org)  He has been actively involved with CBPP since its inception in 2008.  From the late 1970s until joining Varda in 2007, Clif worked with or for several international environmental groups, including WWF, Greenpeace, Friends of the Earth, IUCN and the Pew Environment Group.  Multi-lateral environmental agreement negotiations on ocean and chemical issues – oil spill liability, ocean pollution, sustainable fisheries, ocean dumping bans, chemical phase-outs, obsolete pesticide stockpile cleanups, inter alia – have been a core focus, and Clif has also testified on those and related issues before committees of the US Congress on more than 50 occasions.   He has a law degree from George Washington University’s National Law Center and a B.S. degree from Michigan State University.

Cynthia Hallett, M.P.H.

Cynthia Hallett is the Executive Director of the Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights (ANR) and the American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation where she’s worked since 1997.  Cynthia’s career in tobacco control began in 1989 and her background in tobacco policy advocacy is wide-ranging.  She has spearheaded successful smokefree air campaigns as well as provided technical assistance and strategic guidance in support of smokefree air and public health policy efforts across the U.S. and internationally.  Cynthia also has experience lobbying elected officials to promote tobacco use prevention and reduction policy goals, exposing and fighting against tobacco industry interference, and is often sought out by media to discuss smokefree issues. Before joining ANR/F, she was involved with California's Tobacco Control Program since the inception of the statewide campaign when she served as the Associate Director for the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services Tobacco Control Program.  Her early training was in cancer control and she has worked at the National Cancer Institute and the UCLA Comprehensive Cancer Center.  Cynthia Hallett received her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Public Health degrees from University of California, Los Angeles in 1987 and 1990, respectively.   She has served as a Governing Councilor, and is currently Chair-Elect, for the Alcohol, Tobacco, and Other Drugs Section of the American Public Health Association (APHA), is a member of the UCSF/Legacy Library Advisory Board, and has served on the Steering Committee for Communities Putting Prevention to Work (CPPW).

Stefanie Sekich-Quinn

Stefanie Sekich-Quinn is the California Policy Manager working for the Global Headquarters of the Surfrider Foundation. She has over 14 years of experience working for environmental and social service nonprofits. Stefanie has worked on several environmental issues including: forestry, public lands management, ocean conservation, clean water, establishing Marine Protected Areas, offshore oil drilling, and advocating for comprehensive environmental management to elected officials and resource agencies.  During her time at the Surfrider Foundation, she has worked on several campaigns including the landmark "Save Trestles" campaign that successfully defeated a toll road from running through San Onofre State Beach and the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. The Surfrider Foundation is dedicated to the protection and enjoyment of the world’s oceans, waves and beaches through a powerful network of activists. Surfrider has over 80 Chapter and affiliates around the globe.