When Communication Saves Lives: The Media Campaigns Behind Tobacco Prevention

Education

I received an undergraduate degree in communication from a small liberal arts college in Louisiana. I got my start in public health as an intern on a research study at a cancer center while in college. I fell in love with the field, so after the internship, I stayed at the center as a student worker until I graduated. Over time, they added data management and other kinds of support for clinical research to my duties. They even brought me along to a scientific conference in China where my research team was presenting the results of our study. This experience was a bridge to graduate school, but I wanted to get some on-the-ground work experience first—to get to know myself a little bit more in the context of a full-time job.

Jobs Prior to CDC

After completing my undergraduate degree, I was offered a job at the Tulane University School of Public Health in New Orleans. It was only a year post Katrina and the school had ramped up its service to the community after the hurricane. I wasn't sure about moving to New Orleans at that time, so I spoke to my dad about it. He pointed out to me that the city needed people to return and rebuild and that it could be an opportunity to learn and contribute.

I accepted the job offer and worked on multiple NIH-funded clinical trials focused on heart and kidney disease research for a couple of years. Our studies had a site in China and I got to return there a couple of times, learning a lot. I then applied to the Master of Public Health program and was accepted. After completing my coursework, I applied to and joined the Peace Corps. I was assigned to Nicaragua for two and a half years and was stationed in Bluefields on the Atlantic Coast. I worked for the Ministry of Health at the district level supporting health campaigns, creating a database for maternal and child health indicators and developing training for community health workers around maternal mortality prevention. I also helped organize community events and education, and that involved spending time at the local radio station. It was fascinating to implement global public health recommendations on the ground and to see how program guidelines manifest in real life.

First CDC Job

Working at CDC wasn’t on my radar. I had planned to return to New Orleans after service, but public health jobs in New Orleans were not plentiful. As a former Peace Corps volunteer, I had noncompetitive status for Federal employment so, in 2013, I applied for a job at CDC. About a year after I returned to the United States, I accepted a job as a health communications specialist at CDC that brought me back to my communications roots.

For three years, I worked in CDC’s Office of the Director (Dr. Tom Frieden at the time) in the unit (internally referred to as “exec sec”) that handled his controlled correspondence. Our role was to answer letters from partners, Congress, and everyday Americans about the vast work of CDC, and this work taught me a tremendous amount about the agency. During that time, we were working to enhance the way exec sec operated. Each letter to the CDC director raised an issue and required a response. Before, the very busy people on the front lines of our disease-specific public health activities were asked to supply the content for those responses. Working closely with the director’s issues management team, we began to draft responses using existing cleared information, which meant that the policy teams and scientific staff at the program level didn't have to start from scratch.

At the very top of the agency, you’re always dealing with the hard stuff, the stuff in the news. For example, during my time there were several lab incidents and emergency operations center activations (Ebola, Zika), and I learned to communicate about these very sensitive issues. The pace was wild. By 2016, Dr. Frieden’s resignation was expected when the new administration came in, and I wanted to leverage the transition between administrations to move down to the program level.

Later Job at CDC

When my unit director moved to the Office on Smoking and Health (OSH), I jumped on an opportunity to make a lateral move there to follow her. OSH had its own large health communications branch that staffed activities ranging from the nationwide Tips from Former Smokers media campaign to supporting Surgeon General’s report releases. We also gave technical assistance to the states in best practices for media and communications. OSH deepened my previous communication experience by exposing me to campaign creative development, media strategy, and evaluation. Our branch was full of communications experts and I felt so fortunate to get to work with my colleagues and learn from them.

A major part of my work in OSH was supporting state health departments. Not all of them can fund a full-time communication unit, but many can devote some resources to supporting media and communications activities. We gave them evidence-based advice and materials and connected them with their peers in other states, providing a wealth of information and support through wrap-around service. This took the form of regular virtual training sessions tailored to their funding requirements which were, in turn, tailored to CDC Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs. We also provided 1-on-1 support as needed. For several years, I also oversaw the Media Campaign Resource Center, an online catalogue of free and low-cost tobacco education advertising materials for states and partners. MCRC’s content was constantly refreshed and it was heavily used—it really is a gem. As my colleague used to say, this “jewel in the tobacco prevention and control crown” saved its users the time and money that would have been required to create their own ads. However, it was closed for business as of April 2025 and I worry that it will be deleted.

Final CDC Job

For my last five years at CDC, I co-facilitated the OSH Media Network with an expert consultant. It was a community of practice of media and communications professionals across tobacco control programs in all state health departments and OSH partner organizations. It was a place for states to learn from one another, celebrate their wins, and get support when things were challenging. It was incredibly rewarding and so much fun. The people are amazing. I think about them all the time and miss them dearly. Connecting states through a central coordinating mechanism was efficient. Now, unless a partner steps in, states will not be connected and will reinvent the wheel and waste time and resources.

Proudest Achievement

Of all my work at CDC, I’m most proud of the support I gave to communicators at state health departments. I recall a new communicator in one of the states who flourished after getting plugged into our support and connected to her peers; it was wonderful to watch her grow in her role.

Impact of My Work

The impact of the Tips campaign is significant. It has spurred more than a million people to quit smoking, and millions more to try to quit. It's prevented thousands of premature deaths and saved billions in healthcare costs. It's a “best buy” for public health. Next year would have marked 15 years for the Tips campaign. Without the campaign on air, I'm afraid we’ll lose the gains we've made.

Leaving CDC

The situation started to go downhill after January 20. I had been promoted in September 2024 to Team Lead and had barely begun to get a feel for my new normal. My termination letter came at 5 am on April 1. I went into the office anyway and stayed the whole day. At some point, they started flagging people’s badges and locking them out of the building. It was chaotic, the extreme opposite of professional. Our leadership was totally blind-sided. As I was packing, I just couldn’t believe what had happened.

The notice said that my termination was not prompted by poor performance but was in line with administration policy. This was confusing because, at first, we had thought we shared goals with MAHA. They want to reduce and prevent chronic disease and toxic chemical exposures, and there are obviously dangerous chemicals in tobacco. There was no reason given for the wholesale dismissal of OSH staff who had expertise and a proven track record in preventing chronic disease. You can’t address diabetes, heart disease, or (good heavens) cancer without tobacco prevention and control. Let us hope our colleagues who remain can integrate tobacco into their work.

Future Plans

That first week, in shock like everybody else, I thought this decision might be reversed by the courts. My colleagues jumped right into the job market, but it took me a while to accept the situation as final. I wasn’t ready to move on. I love CDC, and to have the love we show vilified felt like an assault I needed to try to heal from.

Eventually, I saw a few job openings that looked somewhat right for me, and I took my 20-page professional resume and cut it down to a more standard corporate length. I noticed a position at a local non-profit; they needed a communicator who had worked in a coalition-strengthening environment, and they offered me a term-limited position that extends until its grant ends next April.

Other Comments

I would be willing to come back to CDC if there were leaders who would follow the best evidence, not the cherry-picked evidence, and who wouldn’t villainize the federal workforce but celebrate its contributions. I don’t want to associate a political party with these requirements; they boil down to integrity and a heart in public service. Public health is not a commodity. Public health is a public good. My heart is broken because I love CDC, and I don’t recognize it right now.