Grace Plowman
Shoreview, MN

Grace began her tobacco prevention advocacy work with the Association for Nonsmokers–Minnesota, helping conduct tobacco retailer compliance checks to prevent sales to minors. Her advocacy quickly expanded to providing testimony in support of local legislation to end the sale of flavored tobacco products (successful in Shoreview, MN) and raise the tobacco sale age to 21 (successful in Mounds View, MN). Her community work captured the attention of Minnesota Governor Tim Walz, who presented her with the state’s honorary challenge coin.

Vinayak Menon
Suwanee, GA

Eager to learn more about the e-cigarette epidemic impacting his classmates, Vinayak joined a school club and quickly rose to a leadership position. Seeking to take his advocacy work beyond his school walls, he hosted a community-wide town hall bringing together members of his community to discuss mental health and increased substance abuse and the best ways to protect kids from a lifetime of addiction. Vinayak also has advocated at the national level to build support for a federal ban on flavored tobacco products.

Aditya Indla
Union City, CA

Aditya is currently working his second year in a research lab at the University of California San Francisco’s Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education. He is particularly interested in addressing tobacco use in the South Asian community, founding the Aegle Project to learn about cultural challenges to reducing tobacco use. He also continues to be involved in supporting California’s new law to end the sale of flavored tobacco products. He testified before the Senate Health Committee, joined the signing ceremony by Governor Gavin Newsom and is working hard to help defeat the industry’s referendum to overturn the law.

Madeline Erickson
Bismarck, ND

Madeline is a member of the Bismarck Break Free youth board and helps plan the annual Youth Action Summits for tobacco prevention. She’s held tobacco prevention events at her school and taken her advocacy to her elected leaders. She's worked to support legislation to raise the tobacco age in localities across North Dakota and (successfully) to protect the North Dakota Smoke-Free Law. In addition to her tobacco prevention work, Madeline is student council president and works with numerous organizations to benefit her peers. She believes that enthusiasm is crucial to success and strives to make her peers feel welcome in joining her.