Announcing Staff Changes at NAQC

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to announce that NAQC has hired Stephanie Smith-Simone, PhD, MPH as Director of Research & Evaluation. Stephanie is a public health professional with over 15 years of experience in tobacco control. She received her doctoral degree (cum laude) and an MPH with certificate in health communication from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and completed a postdoctoral policy research fellowship at Princeton University and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Her expertise in program evaluation, behavior change theory and survey development and execution will be important as NAQC moves forward. Stephanie will lead this year’s annual survey of quitlines, develop research syntheses for the membership and provide technical assistance.

Please join me in welcoming Stephanie to NAQC (ssmithsimone@naquitline.org)!

As many of you know, Jessie Saul, PhD, has filled the research director position at NAQC on a consulting basis for several years. I would like to thank Jessie for her excellent work, professionalism and many accomplishments, including NAQC’s annual surveys, work on the Minimal Data Set and research agenda, and technical assistance to NAQC members. Jessie will continue consulting for NAQC on the KIQNIC research project and a new project to develop a quitline registry for reengaging quitline callers, in collaboration with the University of South Carolina.

We are truly indebted to Jessie. Please join me in thanking her for all she has done and continues to do for NAQC (jsaul@naquitline.org)!

Linda A. Bailey, JD, MHS
President and CEO
North American Quitline Consortium