I have been involved in Smokefree research and activitism since arriving in Champaign-Urbana.

I was hired at CPRD when my wife Carol and I were awarded a research grant for $350,000 to study the adoption process for tobacco ordinances in cities and towns across the country. This 2 year project provided a launching point into the world of smokefree advocacy.

In 2003, after presenting on the topic of smokefree restaurants to the Champaign-Urbana Public Health District, I found myself President of the C-U Smokefree Alliance, a local advocacy coalition focused on the adoption of smokefree restaurant and bar ordinances in the cities of Champaign and Urbana.

This activism led to the creation of Engaging Youth for Positive Change, which trains young people in the process of local ordinance adoption, and was developed to help youth adopt local smokefree restaurant and bar ordinances.

Today, I serve as Chair of the statewide anti-tobacco coalition sponsored by the Illinois Department of Public Health. And EYPC is the ‘required program’ of IDPH’s ‘Reality Illinois’ youth anti-tobacco program run by health department health educators statewide.  Currently, many sites are using the EYPC program to adopt smokefree parks ordinances in areas around the country.