The Honorable Raymond (Ray) D. Rawson, Nevada State Senator, has been appointed to the Board of Directors of the American Legacy Foundation, the national, independent public health foundation dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Senator Rawson, a Republican, is one of the six elected officials who serve on the 11-member American Legacy Foundation Board.
"We are pleased to begin the new year by welcoming Dr. Rawson to our board of directors," said Dr. Steven Schroeder, the foundation's Board Chair and Distinguished Professor of Health and Health Care and the Director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California, San Francisco, Department of Medicine. "Dr. Rawson has an extensive history of service and achievement both in the private sector in Nevada and within the Legislature. The American Legacy Foundation shares his commitment to education and health and will benefit from his experience."
"As a dentist, Dr. Rawson understands the importance of public health work, which is carried though in his work in other areas, such as community service and education. This work is particularly important in Nevada, where the percentage of people who smoke is 27 percent" said Dr. Cheryl Healton, American Legacy Foundation president and CEO. "I look forward to working with him to further our efforts in tobacco control both within his state and across the nation."
Dr. Rawson has been a member of the Nevada State Legislature since 1985. Since 2001, he has served as the Chairman for the Task Force Fund for Healthy Nevada, which is responsible for tobacco settlement fund distribution in Nevada. Dr. Rawson also currently serves as the Assistant Majority Leader, the Vice Chairman for the Senate Committee on Finance, and the Chairman for the Senate Committee on Human Resources and Facilities. In the past he served as the Chairman for the Legislative Committee on Health Care from 1987-1988, 1998-1990, 1993-1994, 1997-1998, and 2001-2002.
Some of his many personal and professional achievements include: President of the Clark County Anti-Tobacco Task Force, in 2000; the Community Access to Child Health (CATCH) Award, from the American Academy of Pediatrics, in 2000; the Community Hero Award, from the National Conference of Christians and Jews; and Legislator of the Year, from the Nevada Association of Social Workers. Senator Rawson was an Adjunct Associate Professor at Northwestern University School of Dentistry in Chicago, IL; a Full Adjunct Professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas; and an Adjunct Professor, at the University of Nevada School of Medicine.
Dr. Rawson was born in Sandy, Utah, in 1940. He attended the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (B.S and M.S. in Physical Anthropology), Loma Linda University Dental School (D.D.S.); and has a certificate from the Armed Forces Institute of Pathology. He is married to Linda Downey Rawson and has seven children.
American Legacy Foundation
The American Legacy Foundation is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, DC, the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use through grants, technical assistance and training, youth activism, strategic partnerships, counter-marketing and grass roots marketing campaigns, public relations, and outreach to populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco. The foundation's national programs include Circle of FriendsTM, Great Start, a Priority Populations Initiative, Streetheory and truth®. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states and the tobacco industry. Visit www.americanlegacy.org.
