Cheryl Healton

CEO, American Legacy Foundation

Following the creation of the American Legacy Foundation in 1999, Dr. Cheryl Healton joined the staff as the first president and chief executive officer of this groundbreaking public health nonprofit, created by the historic Master Settlement Agreement between 46 state attorneys general, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. During her tenure with the foundation, she has guided the highly acclaimed, national youth tobacco prevention counter-marketing campaign, "Truth", that has been credited in part with reducing youth smoking prevalence to its current 28-year low. She is a frequent commentator in national and local broadcast and print news coverage regarding tobacco control issues, which include guest appearances on ABC's *Good Morning America*; CNN's *Larry King Live*; NBC's *Today*, MSNBC's *Hardball with Chris Matthews*, National Public Radio and more. Healton is currently writing a book on the topic of women and smoking, with common sense strategies to increase successful quit attempts. She joined the American Legacy Foundation from Columbia University's Joseph L. Mailman School of Public Health in New York, where she served as head of the Division of Socio-medical Sciences and associate dean for Program Development. She founded and directed the school's Center for Applied Public Health.