STAFF DIRECTORY Jeanne Weigum President Jeanne Weigum has served as the President of ANSR since 1980, though her path to leading the organization for nearly four decades has somewhat humble roots. The Association for Nonsmokers’ Rights, as it was called at the time, was in the midst of fighting for the nation’s first statewide clean indoor air law in 1975. Jeanne saw an ad in a local paper about the association’s work and decided to become a member, which only cost $1. After becoming a member, Jeanne soon joined the ANSR board and eventually moved her way up to the full-time President, a role for which she has never taken a salary. From ground-breaking smoke-free housing work to innovative approaches to preventing youth tobacco use, she has provided strategic direction for numerous public policy wins in Minnesota. She remains deeply committed to enhancing public health and her community. When not fighting the good fight at ANSR, you’ll find Jeanne baking in the winter, gardening in the spring and summer, and up to her ankles in rescue dogs year round. Email Jeanne Emily Anderson Director of Policy Emily Anderson is a Program Director who focuses on point-of-sale policy work and clean outdoor air in parks and on college campuses. Since her first year at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Emily knew she wanted to work at a nonprofit and contribute to a greater good. After graduate school and stops at a few other nonprofits, she found her niche in public health policy and tobacco prevention at ANSR. Emily has supported dozens of Minnesota communities in passing tobacco-free parks policies and has worked closely with colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota, in adopting tobacco-free campus policies. She advocated for a first-of-its-kind cigar pricing ordinance in Brooklyn Center. She has presented at several public health conferences, including the National Summit on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco and the National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Outside of work Emily enjoys spending time with her family in Minneapolis and heading into the great outdoors to bike, camp and skijor. While Minnesota is now home, she takes pride in teaching her two young daughters to say “Go, Pack, Go!” Email Emily Esha Seth Director of Technical Assistance Esha Seth serves as the Technical Assistance Program Coordinator. In her role, Esha works with county health departments across the state and community organizations that represent various diverse communities to provide resources and guidance on their tobacco prevention initiatives in schools, worksites, grounds, parks, and point of sale policy initiatives. During her time at ANSR, Esha has worked on developing relationships with individuals and provides guidance and resources to assist with the implementation and enforcement of tobacco prevention policies and initiatives. Esha has also worked to help create the free online retailer training that helps educate tobacco retailers on state laws on selling tobacco. Most recently, Esha worked with the Isanti County public health department and their local substance abuse prevention coalition to increase the tobacco sales age from 18 to 21 for all licensed tobacco retailers in the county. Esha is currently working on wrapping up her Master’s in Public Health from the University of Minnesota. Outside of school and work, Esha enjoys travelling and is making travel plans for her next big adventure around the world. Email Esha Katie Engman Program Director Policy & Compliance Katie Engman is a Program Director. Since 2002, Katie has coordinated and supported diverse school- and community-based tobacco prevention programming and advocacy work. Katie is currently working to reduce the amount of tobacco advertising and marketing aimed at youth. Much of Katie’s career has been focused on youth prevention, education, advocacy and engagement resulting in national awards for students. Some of her policy accomplishments include: numerous tobacco-free park policies, a smoke-free workplace ordinance in Ramsey County, an imitation tobacco ordinance and sign ordinance updates in St. Paul, flavored tobacco restrictions in multiple metro communities, numerous city ordinance updates to reflect the changing landscape of tobacco. She also directs the North Suburban Tobacco Compliance Project working to reduce youth access to commercial sources of tobacco. This is a one of a kind model with coordination with cities, law enforcement and youth. Outside the office one might find Katie in the middle of a lake, having arrived there via swimming, boating, or paddling. She also enjoys planning family adventures, such as trips to the beach and cheering on her kids at their activities. Email Katie Jackie Siewert Program Director Live Smoke Free Jackie Siewert is the Program Director for the Live Smoke Free Program. Jackie joined the ANSR team in 2014 with a background in property management and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Minnesota. As Program Director for the Live Smoke Free program she works with local and national stakeholders, such as renters, homeowners, property managers, property owners, and public health advocates, to educate decision makers and promote smoke-free housing. Jackie has supported hundreds of multi-housing properties in adopting smoke-free policies, developed numerous educational tools and resources, and spoken at many health and housing events. Jackie also manages Live Smoke Free communications, including quarterly newsletters, social media, and website content. Inside Jackie’s office one will find a variety of cacti and vining plants. In her spare time, Jackie enjoys running, biking, art festivals, and cats. Email Jackie Kara Skahen Program Director Minnesota Prevention Resource Center Kara serves as the Project Director for the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center (MPRC). In her role she provides programmatic oversight and manages administrative duties. Kara has worked in public health prevention for over ten years, primarily in commercial tobacco prevention. Kara is also a Program Director for the Association for Nonsmokers-MN where she leads smoke-free housing policy initiatives and provides tobacco technical assistance to Statewide Health Improvement Partnership (SHIP) grantees. Outside of work Kara enjoys running with her dog, cooking, reading, and gardening. Kara has a Master of Social Work and Master of Public Policy degree from the University of Minnesota- Twin Cities. Email Kara Chris Smith Community Policy Advocate Chris started at ANSR as a contracted Campaign Organizer in 2020 and officially joined the team as a Community Policy Advocate in 2022. Chris enjoys connecting communities with lawmakers and city leadership. He believes that community engagement is key to developing sound equitable policies. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in advocacy and political leadership -both from Metropolitan State University. He comes to ANSR with a breadth of community organizing experience, from working closely with faith communities as a congregational organizer, to field organizing during numerous election cycles for political and issue campaigns. At ANSR Chris is focused on local tobacco prevention policy at point of sale and smoke-free housing. While not working in the office, Chris spends much of his time biking, developing bikepacking routes for his next adventure, and cheering on the St. Paul Saints with friends and family. Chris is a downtown St. Paul resident and considers himself to be an “armchair Urbanist” since he often criticizes street design, even though he does not hold a degree in engineering or urban planning. Email Chris Jason Lind Director of Finance Jason Lind is ANSR’s Director of Finance. He joined ANSR in 2020 and has more than 16 years of accounting experience, including six in the nonprofit world. Jason helps manage the overall ANSR budget and helps each program budget spend appropriately. He is passionate about technology and enjoys teaching and discussing tech of almost any kind. Personally, he enjoys going for long walk-and-talks with his wife and throwing not-so-perfect spirals to his twin boys. Email Jason Molly Schmidtke Community Outreach Coordinator Molly Schmidtke is a Community Outreach Coordinator. In this role, Molly is responsible for conducting outreach and education events, supporting youth policy and advocacy efforts, and supporting all other ANSR tobacco prevention efforts. Some of her accomplishments include: multiple flavored commercial tobacco restrictions in MN communities, working with youth to create, disseminate and evaluate vaping prevalence surveys with youth partners, as well as creating and disseminating a toolkit focused on the environmental impacts of commercial tobacco products. She has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in Public Health – Community Health Education and is a Certified Health Education Specialist. She is currently pursuing a Master’s in Public Health degree at the University of Minnesota. She is passionate about many public health topics, such as health equity, policy and advocacy. Outside of work, Molly loves to be out on the Mississippi River, cooking, and watching the Minnesota Wild. Email Molly David Olson TITLE Description Email Jack Madeline Bremel Events Manager Madeline is the Events Manager for the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center, and is responsible for planning and coordinating MPRC events, including the annual MN Prevention Program Sharing Conference, and supporting MPRC’s technical assistance and communications needs. Madeline has worked in Public Health in Minnesota, Oregon, and New Mexico, and has found a niche doing planning, organization, and communication-related work at the systems level. Madeline has an MPH from Oregon State University in Health Promotion and Health Behavior. Outside of work you might find Madeline cross-country skiing, crafting, or studying her dog, Pearl’s, personality. Email Madeline Kayla Baker Regional Alcohol Tobacco and Other Drugs Prevention Coordinator MN Metro - Region 7 Kayla is the Metro Regional Prevention Coordinator, which she works with coalitions and communities to promote substance misuse prevention. Kayla has her Bachelor’s degree in Community Health Education from North Dakota State University, and her Master’s degree in Wellness and Health Promotion Management from Nebraska Methodist College. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist (CHES). Prior to becoming a Regional Prevention Coordinator, Kayla spent time working in various health related roles including chemical and mental health, Responsible Beverage Server Training (RBST), alcohol compliance checks, diabetes prevention, and most recently, COVID-19. During her free time Kayla enjoys hiking, baking, and crocheting. Email Kayla Curtis Neff Campaign Organizer Curtis is the Campaign Organizer working to end the sale of flavor tobacco products in Minnesota. Much of his work is focused on recruiting community partners to educate and advocate for this change. Curtis comes to ANSR from a long career in organized labor and activism. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS in Political Science. Outside of work he collects vinyl from many genres and enjoys a quiet life in St. Paul. Email Curtis Morgan Hamernik Administrative & Communications Specialist Morgan Hamernik is an Administrative and Communications Specialist. She joined the ANSR team in 2023 and is responsible for managing the organization’s social media accounts, writing newsletters, and supporting the staff’s education and advocacy efforts. She recently graduated from the University of Minnesota-Twin Cities with a BA in English and a minor in public health. Morgan is passionate about digital accessibility, inclusive health communication, and public libraries. Outside of work, you will likely find Morgan cheering on the Packers or playing with her dog, Happy. Email Morgan

MEET OUR TEAM Email Jeanne Jeanne Weigum President Jeanne has served as the President of ANSR since 1980, though her path to leading the organization for nearly four decades has somewhat humble roots. The Association for Nonsmokers’ Rights, as it was called at the time, was in the midst of fighting for the nation’s first statewide clean indoor air law in 1975. Jeanne saw an ad in a local paper about the association’s work and decided to become a member, which only cost $1. After becoming a member, Jeanne soon joined the ANSR board and eventually moved her way up to the full-time President, a role for which she has never taken a salary. From ground-breaking smoke-free housing work to innovative approaches to preventing youth tobacco use, she has provided strategic direction for numerous public policy wins in Minnesota. She remains deeply committed to enhancing public health and her community. When not fighting the good fight at ANSR, you’ll find Jeanne baking in the winter, gardening in the spring and summer, and up to her ankles in rescue dogs year round. Email Emily Emily Anderson Director of Policy Emily is a Program Director who focuses on point-of-sale policy work and clean outdoor air in parks and on college campuses. Since her first year at Macalester College in Saint Paul, Emily knew she wanted to work at a nonprofit and contribute to a greater good. After graduate school and stops at a few other nonprofits, she found her niche in public health policy and tobacco prevention at ANSR. Emily has supported dozens of Minnesota communities in passing tobacco-free parks policies and has worked closely with colleges and universities, including the University of Minnesota, in adopting tobacco-free campus policies. She advocated for a first-of-its-kind cigar pricing ordinance in Brooklyn Center. She has presented at several public health conferences, including the National Summit on Smokeless and Spit Tobacco and the National Conference on Tobacco or Health. Outside of work Emily enjoys spending time with her family in Minneapolis and heading into the great outdoors to bike, camp and skijor. While Minnesota is now home, she takes pride in teaching her two young daughters to say “Go, Pack, Go!” Email Katie Katie Engman Program Director, Policy & Compliance Katie is a Program Director. Since 2002, Katie has coordinated and supported diverse school- and community-based tobacco prevention programming and advocacy work. Katie is currently working to reduce the amount of tobacco advertising and marketing aimed at youth. Much of Katie’s career has been focused on youth prevention, education, advocacy and engagement resulting in national awards for students. Some of her policy accomplishments include: numerous tobacco-free park policies, a smoke-free workplace ordinance in Ramsey County, an imitation tobacco ordinance and sign ordinance updates in St. Paul, flavored tobacco restrictions in multiple metro communities, numerous city ordinance updates to reflect the changing landscape of tobacco. She also directs the North Suburban Tobacco Compliance Project working to reduce youth access to commercial sources of tobacco. This is a one of a kind model with coordination with cities, law enforcement and youth. Outside the office one might find Katie in the middle of a lake, having arrived there via swimming, boating, or paddling. She also enjoys planning family adventures, such as trips to the beach and cheering on her kids at their activities. Email Jason Jason Lind Director of Finance and IT Jason is ANSR’s Director of Finance and IT. He joined ANSR in 2020 and has a long history of nonprofit work. Jason helps manage the overall ANSR budget and ensures we are good stewards of the funds we receive. He is passionate about technology and enjoys teaching and discussing tech of almost any kind. Personally, he enjoys going for long walk-and-talks with his wife, throwing not-so-perfect spirals to his twin boys, and playing pickleball. Email Molly Molly Schmidtke Policy and Technical Assistance Manager Molly is a Policy and Technical Assistance Manager. In this role, Molly is responsible for conducting outreach and education events, supporting youth policy and advocacy efforts, and supporting all other ANSR tobacco prevention efforts. Some of her accomplishments include: multiple flavored commercial tobacco restrictions in MN communities, working with youth to create, disseminate and evaluate vaping prevalence surveys with youth partners, as well as creating and disseminating a toolkit focused on the environmental impacts of commercial tobacco products. She has a BS from the University of Wisconsin-La Crosse in Public Health – Community Health Education and a Master’s in Public Health degree from the University of Minnesota. She is also a Certified Health Education Specialist. She is passionate about many public health topics, such as health equity, policy and advocacy. Outside of work, Molly loves to be out on the Mississippi River and watching the Minnesota Wild. Email Chris Christopher Smith Community Policy Advocate Chris started at ANSR as a contracted Campaign Organizer in 2020 and officially joined the team as a Community Policy Advocate in 2022. Chris enjoys connecting communities with lawmakers and city leadership. He believes that community engagement is key to developing sound equitable policies. Chris holds a bachelor’s degree in business and a master’s in advocacy and political leadership -both from Metropolitan State University. He comes to ANSR with a breadth of community organizing experience, from working closely with faith communities as a congregational organizer, to field organizing during numerous election cycles for political and issue campaigns. At ANSR Chris is focused on local tobacco prevention policy at point of sale and smoke-free housing. While not working in the office, Chris spends much of his time biking, developing bikepacking routes for his next adventure, and cheering on the St. Paul Saints with friends and family. Chris is a downtown St. Paul resident and considers himself to be an “armchair Urbanist” since he often criticizes street design, even though he does not hold a degree in engineering or urban planning. Email Curtis Curtis Neff Campaign Organizer Curtis is the Campaign Organizer working to end the sale of flavor tobacco products in Minnesota. Much of his work is focused on recruiting community partners to educate and advocate for this change. Curtis comes to ANSR from a long career in organized labor and activism. He is a graduate of Iowa State University with a BS in Political Science. Outside of work he collects vinyl from many genres and enjoys a quiet life in St. Paul. Email Madeline Madeline Bremel Program Director - Minnesota Prevention Resource Center Madeline is the Program Director for the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center, and is responsible for providing programmatic oversight and supporting MPRC’s technical assistance and communication needs. Madeline has worked in Public Health in Minnesota, Oregon, and New Mexico, and has found a niche doing planning, organization, and communication-related work at the systems level. Madeline has an MPH from Oregon State University in Health Promotion and Health Behavior. Outside of work you might find Madeline cross-country skiing, crafting, or studying their dog, Pearl's, personality. Email David David Olson-Iverson Regional ATOD Prevention Coordinator - Region 5 David Iverson serves as the Cohort 5 Metro and SE Minnesota Regional Prevention Coordinator (RPC). Prior to taking on this role, David was actively involved in various health and substance misuse prevention programs. These include serving as the Drug-Free Communities (DFC) Grant Coordinator in Deer River, being a member of the Standing Together Embracing Prevention coalition in Deer River, holding a position as a board member of the Forward Health Foundation in Deer River, and also working with Itasca County as a D.A.R.E. Role Model in High School. As a DFC Coordinator, he was instrumental in rebranding the community's youth group, Step Up Deer River (stepupdeerriver.org). With more than 25 years of experience working with youth in schools, David has also spent seven years as a head varsity basketball coach and most recently coached a silver medalist team at the North American Indigenous Games in Nova Scotia. David holds an Associate of Arts degree from Itasca Community College and is currently pursuing a major in Special Education at Bethel University. Email Alex Alexandra Eberhart Project Lead Alex is a Project Lead primarily working on the Live Smoke Free program housed at ANSR. She assists multi-unit housing properties in adopting smoke-free policies and contributes to community outreach, resident engagement, and enforcement strategies for smoke-free housing. Alex also supports youth engagement and advocacy efforts to prevent commercial tobacco use, empowering young leaders to make a difference. Alex earned a Master’s in Public Health from St. Ambrose University and a BS in Public Health - Health Administration from Winona State University. With her long-standing passion for community well-being, she is eager to further ANSR’s mission and engage with communities in promoting smoke-free living. Outside of work, you can find her playing pickleball, reading a book, or enjoying the outdoors. Email Kennedy Kennedy Montgomery Communications & Outreach Coordinator Kennedy is a Communications and Outreach Coordinator. She joined the ANSR team in 2024 and is responsible for managing the organization's social media accounts, writing newsletters for donors, grantees, and other stakeholders, and supporting the staff’s commercial tobacco prevention advocacy efforts. She graduated from the University of St. Thomas in May 2024 with a bachelor’s degree in Public Health and a minor in business administration. Outside of work, you can find her enjoying the outdoors, traveling, cooking, or playing with her dog, Chip. Email Sheila Sheila Watercott Regional ATOD Prevention Coordinator - Region 7 Sheila Watercott serves as a Minnesota Regional Alcohol, Tobacco, & Other Drug Prevention Coordinator (RPC) in the 7 county Metro Region. She has over 15 years experience coordinating community projects focused on health and safety. Prior to taking this role, she was a Community Health Educator and Project Coordinator in Little Falls and Morrison County. She has worked with community partners to achieve outcomes in reducing youth substance use, in growing awareness of effective substance use prevention strategies, and in growing knowledge of the harms of youth substance use, including the use of marijuana, alcohol, commercial tobacco products, and prescription drugs. Email Jaclyn Jaclyn Frank Live Smoke Free Community Outreach Coordinator Jaclyn is a Community Outreach Coordinator for the Live Smoke Free program at ANSR. Jaclyn collaborates with property managers, residents, local public health, and state partners to promote, implement, and evaluate smoke-free multi-unit housing policies. She has a background in mixed-methods research, advocacy, and systems improvement across various public health domains including housing, chronic diseases, and the public health workforce, all with a strong focus on health equity. Jaclyn has a BS in Public Health from Purdue University and an MPH from the University of Minnesota in Public Health Administration and Policy. Outside of work, you might find her running along the Mississippi River, singing karaoke, or finishing a puzzle. Email Moe Moe Sadique Event Coordinator Moe serves as the Event Coordinator for the Minnesota Prevention Resource Center. Their role includes planning MPRC training and events, such as the annual MN Prevention Program Sharing conference, and providing administrative support to other ANSR programs. Moe has a background in civic engagement, organizing and politics, as well as experience leading teams in managing medical and pharmacy benefits. They are passionate about using their project coordination and program development skills to advance the work of MPRC. Moe also loves nature, music, crafts, reading, and spending time with their son and their dog.

CONTACT Get in Touch Phone: 651-646-3005 Fax: 651-646-0142 ANSR: ansrmn@ansrmn.org Live Smoke Free: info@mnsmokefreehousing.org Follow ANSR on social media: Address 2395 University Ave W, Suite 310 Saint Paul, MN 55114-1512 If you are visiting our offices, please call ahead to make arrangements and receive information on driving directions and parking.

This updated map highlights Minnesota communities actively working to restrict or prohibit the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol. It distinguishes between areas with comprehensive policies banning all flavored tobacco and those with partial restrictions targeting e-cigarettes or specific flavored tobacco products. These efforts aim to reduce youth access to addictive substances and promote public health.

The Vadnais Heights City Council voted unanimously to adopt a revised Commercial Tobacco Ordinance, marking a significant step forward in promoting public health within the community. The new ordinance includes: A ban on the sale of all flavored commercial tobacco products; A cap on retail tobacco licenses at six; Strengthened penalties, with the removal of PUP penalties for violators. This policy is marking a significant step forward in promoting public health within the community, helping reduce youth access to flavored tobacco products and limiting the spread of tobacco-related harm. Thank you to everyone who emailed, called, testified, sent a letter of support, attended a council meeting, and/or spread the word about this ordinance. Vadnais Heights is the 12th city in the state to completely end the sale of flavors. Vadnais Heights has taken bold action to create a thriving community for all.

Minneapolis, Minn.  – The Hennepin County Board of Commissioners showed strong leadership in protecting the health and safety of its residents on Feb. 10. The board voted 6-1 to prohibit electronic cigarette use in most public indoor spaces. The ordinance update means the use of electronic cigarettes is not allowed anywhere conventional cigarette use is also not allowed, such as work places, restaurants and bars. “Smoking is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in Minnesota, and this change is a necessary step in protecting the right of Minnesotans to breathe clean air,” said Commissioner Marion Greene, the champion of the ordinance. “We are also committed to health for our youngest populations. Nicotine is addictive, affects youth brain development. E-cigarette flavors are heavily targeted to youth and normalize smoking behavior.” This ordinance change helps protect the general public from exposure to electronic cigarette emissions, which are known to contain ingredients that are harmful to human health.  Further, this ordinance upholds a smoke-free norm and protects youth from exposure to these products, which is important given that electronic cigarettes are becoming popular with high school students. The recent Minnesota Youth Tobacco Survey, released in November, shows 28 percent of high school students have tried e-cigarettes, and 13 percent have used or tried them in the past 30 days. Nearly a quarter of those who have tried e-cigarettes have never tried conventional tobacco products. “This is a huge win for public health and the people of Minnesota,” said Betsy Brock, Research Director for the Association for Nonsmokers-Minnesota (ANSR). “Hennepin County is our state’s most populated county and an economic engine for the region. This policy will protect many residents and workers. Our hope is other counties and cities, and eventually the state, will follow Hennepin’s lead.”