Dear John,

This May, at our 2025 Youth Advocates of the Year Awards in Washington, D.C., we’ll recognize the accomplishments of outstanding young leaders and public health champions from the U.S. and around the world.

We look forward to coming together with our partners and supporters – strong, steadfast and united in our commitment to public health and resolute in our mission to create a healthier and more equitable future for all.

ANNOUNCING OUR CHAMPION AWARD HONOREE

We’re thrilled to present our Champion Award this year to The Navajo Nation Air is Life Health Coalition, represented by Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson.

About The Navajo Nation Air is Life Health Coalition

The Navajo Nation Air is Life Health Coalition has demonstrated outstanding leadership in advocating for two landmark policies to reduce use of commercial tobacco products and protect the health of the Navajo people. The coalition will be represented by Dr. Patricia Nez Henderson, a coalition co-founder and enrolled member of the Navajo Nation, Vice President of the Black Hills Center for American Indian Health, and a nationally recognized scientific expert on the impact of commercial tobacco products on American Indian Tribes and communities.

After 13 years of education and advocacy efforts by the Air is Life Coalition, Navajo Nation leaders in 2021 enacted the Niłch'í Éí Bee Ííńá – Air is Life Act, which prohibits the use of all commercial tobacco products in workplaces and public places in the Navajo Nation. Then, in November 2024, Navajo Nation leaders enacted a comprehensive tobacco tax policy developed by the Air is Life Coalition, which increased the cigarette tax by $1.50 per pack and imposed a tax on e-cigarettes and other commercial nicotine products. The new revenue helps fund the Office of Traditional Cultural and Spiritual Healing within the Navajo Department of Health and provides grants to Navajo traditional healer organizations that are instrumental in teaching Navajo youth about the differences between ceremonial and commercial tobacco.

These historic actions are a testament to the leadership and perseverance of the Air is Life Coalition. They will protect the health of the Navajo people for generations to come, while helping to reclaim ceremonial tobacco from the exploitative practices of the commercial tobacco industry. The Navajo Nation is the largest Indigenous territory and federally recognized Tribe in the U.S., encompassing over 17 million acres and over 400,000 enrolled tribal members.

Dr. Nez Henderson was the first Indigenous woman to graduate from the Yale School of Medicine. She has been a member of multiple federal tobacco-related committees, including the inaugural FDA Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, which recommended the elimination of menthol cigarettes. She also served as the first Indigenous president of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.

On May 8th, join us in honoring The Navajo Nation Air is Life Health Coalition, our Youth Advocates of the Year, and other public health champions.

STAY TUNED

There's more to come! Soon, we’ll announce the recipient of our Global Health Advocacy Changemaker Award as well as our honorees for the Group Youth Advocates of the Year, Global Young Ambassador of the Year, Judy Wilkenfeld Award for International Tobacco Control Excellence, and Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year.

We hope to see you on May 8th!

Looking forward,

Tickets: Individual tickets to this year’s event are $400.

More Information: For sponsorship opportunities, tickets and additional details, please visit tfk.org/Awards.

Where: Kogod Courtyard at the National Portrait Gallery and Smithsonian American Art Museum, 8th and F Streets NW, Washington, DC.