Shelley Courington, executive director
Shelley Courington worked for five years at the American Cancer Society, MidSouth Division, most recently serving as the division grassroots director. During her time at ACS, she developed successful legislative grassroots campaigns that led to significant tobacco policy changes in Arkansas, Louisiana and Tennessee. Before her work with the American Cancer Society, Courington served as the tobacco control coordinator for the Metro Nashville Public Health Department and as a public health educator for the Tennessee Department of Health’s tobacco control program. She was responsible for coordinating the efforts of the Smoke-Free Nashville coalition and implementing anti-tobacco programs across the state.
Courington earned her bachelor’s degree in elementary education from the University of Montevallo in Montevallo, Ala.
Margaret Smith, chairwoman
Margaret Smith, director of Lung Health Programs and Advocacy for the American Lung Association of Tennessee, has worked in not-for-profit health for her entire career. She has held direct responsibility for tobacco control education for more than 20 years and for tobacco control advocacy for nearly 12 years. She has fought for and celebrated the baby steps that were first accomplished in tobacco control in Tennessee during the 1990s as well as the major victories in smoke-free air, excise tax, and budget appropriations for tobacco prevention and cessation in 2007 and 2008. Helping to accomplish a completely smoke-free Tennessee is her dream.
John Chiaramonte, chairman-elect
John Chiaramonte is Tennessee’s director of government affairs for the American Cancer Society. He works with both field staff and volunteers from across the state, advocating the mission of the society. Prior to his current position, he spent his entire career with Olin Corporation in various management positions, including director of federal and state affairs.
Brought up in New York, N.Y., Chiaramonte now lives with his wife in Franklin, Tenn. He has a B.S. degree from the Rochester Institute of Technology and attended the executive development program at Louisiana State University and the State Government Affairs Institute at Rutgers.
He serves on several boards and committees with the City of Franklin and is a member of the Harpeth River Watershed Association.
Porsche Kristina, secretary
Porsche Kristina is currently a full-time student at MTSU. She is the founder and president of Smoke-Free MT, an organization on campus that strives to educate students on the issues and risks associated with smoking; to provide free, accessible tobacco treatment on campus; and to encourage students and staff who smoke to get help quitting. As well as Smoke-Free MT, Kristina is also involved in many other organizations on campus, as well as serving throughout her community. Kristina became passionate about Smoke-Free during her involvement with the passage of the Clean Indoor Air Act of 2006 in Colorado. Kristina eventually would like to make MTSU a completely smoke-free campus.
Cathy Dyer, treasurer
Cathy Dyer is executive director of the Tennessee Academy of Family Physicians. The Tennessee AFP, with a membership of 2,175, is the medical specialty association that represents family physicians, family medicine residents and medical students interested in practicing family medicine throughout Tennessee. Dyer also serves as executive vice president of the Tennessee AFP’s Foundation. Additionally, she is state coordinator for the Tar Wars program in Tennessee, a national anti-tobacco, in-school program for fourth- and fifth-graders.
Peggy Alsup, M.D.
Peggy Alsup worked for the Tennessee Department of Health for 15 years, serving as regional health officer and medical director in the bureaus of Medicaid and Manpower and Facilities. She also served as medical director at Upper Manhattan Medical Group, Health Insurance Plan of Greater New York, Inc., for four years. She received her B.S. degree from Fisk University and her M.S. degree from the University of Pennsylvania. Alsup earned her M.D. from Howard University School of Medicine before going on to get her M.P.H. from Columbia University.
Mary Nell Bryan
Mary Nell Bryan has served as president of the Children’s Hospital Alliance of Tennessee since 2004. She began her work in state advocacy in 1991. After becoming self-employed in 1998, she began focusing primarily on health care and nonprofit issues.
Diane Buckberg
Diane Buckberg is a community volunteer. She is a lung health patient and an advocate for the American Lung Association. Buckberg serves on the Regional Advisory Council for the American Lung Association. She is a former middle school teacher and enjoys playing the piano and boating with her husband, Joel. She is a native of Nashville, Tenn.
Yuri Cunza
Yuri Cunza is the president and CEO of the Nashville Area Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, the founder of La Noticia newspaper and Y&K Entertainment, a film production and media consulting company based in Nashville, Tenn. He has been involved with numerous local and national organizations and events, including Scarritt-Bennett Center’s “Celebration of Cultures,” the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences, Belcourt Theatre, The Nashville Film Festival, the American Red Cross, the National Association of Latino Independent Producers (NALIP), the Screen Actors Guild (SAG), the National Association of Hispanic Journalists, the Downtown Nashville Rotary Club, the HIV/AIDS research-based Comprehensive Care Center and Street Works, and the Metro General Hospital’s “Friends in General Board.”
Christi Granstaff
Christi Granstaff is the deputy director at the Tennessee Primary Care Association. She provides staff leadership and day-to-day oversight of the association’s programs. She oversees the association’s training and technical assistance program and manages its contracts and grants. Granstaff also directs the association’s government relations, health care policy activities and analysis of emerging issues. She works with the association’s partners to advocate on behalf of community health centers and health care access issues and has successfully advocated for millions of dollars in appropriations for the care of the uninsured at community health centers. She has improved state health policy for community health centers and their patients. Granstaff is a member of the legislative committee of the National Association of Community Health Centers and is on the Tennessee Economic Council on Women Foundation.
Julie Griffin
Since 2004, Julie Griffin has served as TMA’s assistant director of government affairs. She brings a wealth of experience in political and legislative affairs, both in state and federal government and in the private sector. Prior to joining the staff of TMA, Griffin served as the advocacy director for the American Heart Association (AHA) in Nashville, Tenn. Griffin has lobbied extensively and successfully in the Tennessee General Assembly on a number of health-related issues.
Chastity Mitchell
Chastity Mitchell has been in the area of government relations in the Tennessee General Assembly for more than 12 years. She is the senior advocacy director for the American Heart Association. She previously worked as a contract lobbyist for CHART and as the government relations director for the American Cancer Society. Her tobacco control policy successes include working to securing the first tobacco tax increase since 1969 in 2002, an additional tobacco tax increase of 42 cents in 2007 and, most importantly, the passage of the Non-smoker Protection Act in 2007. She was selected as a leadership fellow in tobacco control by the Advocacy Institute in Washington, D.C. Before working on public health issues, she worked on environmental issues and served as a staff person for the Tennessee State Senate. Mitchell received her J.D. degree from Nashville School of Law in 2002, and a B.S. degree in political science from Middle Tennessee State University in 1997. She is a resident of Nashville and is married with two children.
Doris Spain
Doris Spain is the executive director of the Tennessee Public Health Association. Spain retired after 33 years with the Tennessee Department of Health, serving most recently as the last assistant commissioner for the Health Services Administration. She is a member of the Tennessee Public Health Association, the Southern Health Association, the American Public Health Association, and the Rural Health Association of Tennessee. Her list of honors includes the Distinguished Service and Presidential awards from the Rural Health Association of Tennessee; the Distinguished Service and Alex B. Shipley awards from the Tennessee Public Health Association; and the Distinguished Service Award from AHEC. She has also been cited among the Outstanding Young Women of America.
Jason Stamm
Jason Stamm serves as the tobacco control coordinator for the Metro Public Health Department. In that role, he works to implement a stronger smoking policy at the Metro Public Health Department and developed a cessation program that is being offered to all Metro employees. Stamm previously worked as the cessation coordinator and tobacco educator for Dutchess County, N.Y. While in New York, Stamm worked with the Smoke-Free Dutchess coalition on legislative advocacy pertaining to smoke-free workplace initiatives in the mid-Hudson Valley region. Stamm received his M.S. degree in public service management from Cumberland University and a B.A. degree in secondary education from Indiana University.
Carrie Thomas
Carrie Thomas currently serves as the tobacco prevention and reduction coordinator for the Knox County Health Department. Prior to this position, Thomas worked as a health educator and the regional tobacco coordinator for the East Tennessee region. Thomas received a Master of Public Health degree from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, in 2004.