2010 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards

We Are Now Accepting Nominations

The Youth Advocates of the Year Awards honor top youth advocates from across the country — youth who have fought hard to promote tobacco prevention legislation in their home states, to reduce tobacco marketing to kids in their communities and to stop their peers from using tobacco.

2009 National Youth Advocate of the Year

Emily Kile, 17
Greenfield, Ind.

Emily Kile truly believes she and other youth can make a difference and is using her voice and her dedication to prove it. Emily serves as President of Greenfield-Central High School's chapter of VOICE, Indiana's youth-led movement against the tobacco industry and their targeting of youth. Emily is currently collecting petitions for an initiative called "Don't Glam Tobacco" aimed at reducing youth exposure to smoking in movies. In early 2009, Emily testified in support of comprehensive, statewide smoke-free legislation before the House Public Policy Committee in the Indiana House of Representatives.  Her testimony continues her strong dedication to smoke-free policies, including speaking at and recruiting peers to attend a town hall meeting on the issue.  Emily has also worked for effective enforcement of her school's tobacco-free campus policy and is advocating for a smoke-free day at her county fair.  Additionally, Emily has submitted letters to the editor and written feature stories for her school newspaper to raise awareness about tobacco.  According to one of her nominators, Emily is a "devoted, hardworking young woman" whose "drive, support and abilities define advocacy."

2009 Group Winner

REAL: Hawaii Youth Movement Exposing the Tobacco Industry,
Hawaii

REAL was one of the nation's first statewide, youth-led tobacco control movements founded after the 1998 state tobacco settlement. Over the past decade, youth in Hawaii have worked to gain adult support and recognition for youth empowerment and activism. REAL advocates have worked to pass and defend a statewide smoke-free workplace law and advocated for a tobacco tax increase that passed on the first try.  REAL has also worked on issues that reach beyond Hawaii, supporting FDA regulation of tobacco products and the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.  With no paid media support, REAL works through peer to peer marketing and grassroots mobilization.  Their proudest achievements include a "Girl Talk" campaign in response to R.J. Reynolds' marketing of Camel # 9 cigarettes and "Youth Unite for Kick Butts Day," an all-day event at the state Capitol.

2009 East Regional Youth Advocate of the Year

Hyacynth Dixon, 15
Dorchester, Mass.

Hyacynth Dixon takes seriously the role of educating others about Big Tobacco and their harmful practices.  In 2008, she and fellow members of the group BOLD Teens Against Tobacco played an active role in getting Boston to become one of the first cities to ban tobacco sales in pharmacies.  Hyacynth and other BOLD teens wrote letters to the editor, held protests in front of pharmacies and met with the Boston Public Health Commission numerous times, culminating in approval of Boston's new regulation. Hyacynth also called attention to the need for FDA regulation of tobacco products by organizing a warning label project designed to educate the community about what's in a cigarette.  Hyacynth is currently working to improve enforcement of a Boston law that limits the amount of window advertising allowed in stores.

2009 South Regional Youth Advocate of the Year

Colleen Daly, 17
Asheville, N.C.

Colleen Daly truly has the ability to empower those around her to work for positive change. Colleen has a wealth of tobacco control experience, including meeting with legislators to advocate smoke-free air, educating youth about the dangers of tobacco products and serving as president of her local chapter of Teens Against Tobacco Use (T.A.T.U.). Currently, Colleen is working with Project ASSIST and the American Heart Association to advocate for statewide smoke-free air legislation in North Carolina.  This continues her smoke-free advocacy, which also includes working to pass a smoke-free parks policy in Ashville and speaking at Asheville's minor league baseball stadium to introduce this policy to the public.  Colleen also has developed a talent for graphic design and redesigned her county's Project ASSIST logo.

2009 West Regional Youth Advocate of the Year

Olivia Holter, 16
Helena, Mont.

Olivia Holter is both an effective communicator and a passionate leader. She has been a member of Montana's reACT Core Team, the statewide youth leadership board, for two years. During that time, Olivia has worked to support implementation of Montana's Clean Indoor Air law, educated legislators on why candy-flavored tobacco products should be banned and appeared in reACT television ads aimed at educating youth about smokeless tobacco. Olivia also attended the R.J. Reynolds shareholder meeting in North Carolina last year. While there, Olivia expanded her tobacco prevention network by meeting other youth from across the country. Olivia looks forward to continuing her work over the next year and is currently planning the fourth annual reACT summit to be held in June.

2009 Central Regional Youth Advocate of the Year

Kyle Picha, 17
Prairie du Chien, Wisc.

Kyle Picha understands the importance of changing government policies to reduce tobacco use and has dedicated hundreds of hours to tobacco prevention and control activities. Currently, Kyle is working with his local coalition C.A.R.E. (Crawford Abuse Resistance Effort) to advocate for a comprehensive, statewide smoke-free law in Wisconsin and recently testified before the Join Finance Committee in support of tobacco prevention funding for Wisconsin. As a member of FACT (Fighting Against Corporate Tobacco), Kyle has also played an integral role in the group's award-winning media campaign about the 8,000 people in Wisconsin who die each year because of tobacco-related disease.  Additionally, Kyle has worked with Wisconsin Wins, a program that works to ensure the age requirements for purchasing tobacco products are enforced.

Past winners have been interviewed on Oprah and Peter Jennings Reporting, appeared in People magazine, participated in White House events, spoken at press conferences and met with Members of Congress, among others.

Learn more about previous Youth Advocates of the Year