Novelli Leaving as President of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

Washington, DC - The CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS announced today that William D. Novelli is resigning as the Campaign’s President and Matthew L. Myers, the CAMPAIGN’s Executive Vice President and General Counsel, has been appointed by the Board of Directors as the organization’s new President. Novelli is leaving to direct legislative and public policy, communications, and other functions at AARP, the nation’s leading organization for people age 50 and older. He has been President of the CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS since its establishment in September 1995. He is also the founder and former president of Porter/Novelli, the fourth largest public relations agency in the United States, and the former executive vice president of CARE, the world’s largest private relief and development organization. “I am very proud of what we have accomplished here at the Campaign,” Novelli said, “and I now look forward to the new opportunities at the AARP.” Myers currently serves as the CAMPAIGN’s chief legal counsel and oversees all of its advocacy, outreach, and grassroots development efforts. A nationally recognized tobacco control advocate, he has testified before Congress and executive branch agencies, is widely published in health and medical publications, and appears regularly on national news programs to discuss tobacco issues. Previously, Myers was partner in the law firm of Asbill, Junkin & Myers in Washington, D.C., where he specialized in complex commercial litigation and cases concerning employment law, the Privacy Act, health law, and First Amendment issues. His work included representing the Coalition on Smoking OR Health, comprised of the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association and the American Heart Association. “Bill Novelli was instrumental in the success of the Campaign and will be sorely missed,” Myers said. “I look forward to building on the strong foundation we have established to reduce the deadly toll of tobacco.” The CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS is the largest, non-government initiative ever launched to reduce tobacco use and exposure among children. The CAMPAIGN is a membership organization consisting of more than 130 health, civic, corporate, youth and religious groups. (For more detailed biographies of William Novelli and Matthew Myers, please call our office or visit our web site at $1$2www.tobaccofreekids.org$3$4.)