For Immediate Release: Oct. 19, 2026
Contact: Dave Lemmon, 202-296-5469
WASHINGTON, D.C. – The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund announced today that Bill Novelli is stepping down as chair of the Board of Directors after 30 years in leadership positions at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund. He will be succeeded by Melissa A. Schulman, Senior Vice President for Government and Public Affairs at CVS Health.
Novelli in 1996, with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, founded the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund. He served as president of the two organizations until December 1999, when Matt Myers succeeded him. Novelli subsequently chaired the two Boards until 2025. He has since chaired the Board of the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund. Christopher Conley now chairs the board of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund are leading advocacy organizations working to reduce tobacco use and its deadly consequences in the United States and around the world. The Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund is a 501(c)(4) nonprofit organization separate from, but affiliated with, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Through the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, created in 2014, these organizations also tackle other critical public health challenges across the globe – including food and nutrition policy, injury and overdose prevention, and building resilient and equitable health systems.
“When we began,” Novelli said, “tobacco use among kids was at an all-time high, adult smoking was everywhere, the FDA was struggling to get jurisdiction, and the tobacco industry was a Goliath. We’ve made a world of difference, but not by ourselves. The American Heart Association, American Cancer Society, American Academy of Pediatrics and many other partners helped move this mountain. This is the toughest, most important challenge I’ve ever faced. I’m enormously proud of what we all accomplished.”
“I want to thank Bill for his visionary leadership in guiding our work over the past 30 years to protect kids, improve health and save lives in the United States and around the world,” said Yolonda C. Richardson, President and CEO of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund. “Bill has contributed enormously to our progress in driving down tobacco use and our evolution as a leading global public health advocacy organization. I am confident that Melissa Schulman will help us build on this progress and deepen our impact in the U.S. and globally.”
“I am honored to be named Board chair for the Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and am deeply committed to advancing our mission of creating a healthier future for all,” Schulman said. “I thank Bill for his extraordinary service and look forward to building upon his legacy of leadership as a champion for better health.”
Since being created in 1996, Tobacco-Free Kids has helped to reduce smoking rates by 95% among youth and 63% among adults in the U.S., with smoking rates among high school students dropping from over 36% to 1.8%. Globally, as a partner in the Bloomberg Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use and with support from the Gates Foundation for work in Africa, Tobacco-Free Kids has helped pass tobacco control laws in 65 countries, saving over 42 million lives. And the Global Health Advocacy incubator has helped civil society organizations achieve 217 health policy victories in 38 countries, covering more than 5 billion people.
In addition to his leadership roles at Tobacco-Free Kids, Novelli is an emeritus professor at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he founded the Business for Impact Center and oversaw the program for over a decade.
Novelli co-founded and co-chairs the Coalition to Transform Advanced Care (C-TAC, a national alliance to reform serious illness/end-of-life care in the U.S. Previously, he was CEO of AARP, Executive Vice President of CARE, and co-founder and president of Porter Novelli, a global public relations firm now part of Omnicom.
Previously, Schulman spent 14 years on Capitol Hill, serving in senior staff roles in Congress. Since leaving Capitol Hill, she has been advising corporations, non-profit organizations and trade associations on their government strategies for over 25 years.
