Ellen Hahn to Receive Dr. John Slade Advocacy Award

Developing Leadership Fellow will be the 2nd to Receive Award, Named in Honor of the Fellowship Program’s Late Founder

PORTLAND, OR – November 9, 2004 – Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse Fellow Ellen Hahn, DNS, RN will be only the second person to receive the American Public Health Association’s (APHA) John D. Slade, MD Memorial Advocacy Award.  The honor will be given at the November 9 meeting and awards ceremony of the association’s Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs (ATOD) Section, held during APHA’s annual meeting in Washington, DC.

The award is named for the late Dr. Slade, an addictions innovator who founded The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse fellowship and Innovators Combating Substance Abuse awards programs.  Like Dr. Slade, Dr. Hahn is a tobacco control advocate and researcher.  Fittingly, she is also a recipient of the fellowship Dr. Slade envisioned as a way of building a diverse cadre of future leaders in the substance abuse field. 

            “We are absolutely thrilled that Ellen is receiving this award and couldn’t think of a better person to be honored in John Slade’s name,” says Judith Schector, Director, Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse.  “Ellen has emerged as a leading tobacco control advocate and researcher, and she has done so in the most challenging environment:  a tobacco-growing state.  She’s been able to overcome the enormous influence of tobacco companies and has been successful at protecting the health of her fellow Kentuckians.  John would have been proud to see her get this award and make this kind of impact.”

            Dr. Hahn, who is Director of the Tobacco Policy Research Program and Associate Professor, University of Kentucky Colleges of Nursing and Public Health, used her leadership development fellowship to challenge the pro-tobacco climate in Kentucky.  She worked during her three-year fellowship (2000-2002) to enhance her tobacco policy research skills, create a tobacco-policy research program at the University of Kentucky, and develop a network of researchers and advocates interested in tobacco control policy in tobacco states.

            Dr. Hahn’s impact has already been significant.  Her efforts helped pass the Smoke-Free Lexington ordinance, which prohibits smoking in restaurants, bars and other public buildings in the city of Lexington and county of Fayette, Kentucky.  She’s led research in a range of areas related to tobacco control policy, including a new study comparing air quality in Lexington hospitality venues, before and after the recent smoke-free law.  And she has organized meetings of researchers from the nation’s tobacco states, in order to develop a cohesive network focused on tobacco control policy in a region where the industry wields tremendous economic and political influence.

            In notifying Dr. Hahn of her award, Andre G. Stanley, MPH, who chairs the APHA ATOD awards committee, stated that she was chosen for the award for her demonstration of “leadership, resourcefulness, passion and mastery of advocacy techniques in a campaign designed to bring about positive changes in public policy.” 

            Based at the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey, Dr. Slade was a well-known pioneer in addiction research and advocacy.  He had a vision of creating programs to support and encourage the efforts of those working in substance abuse treatment and prevention, to foster innovation, and to encourage the development of new and diverse leadership in the field.   He shared his vision with The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, and in 2000 they invited him to create and lead the Developing Leadership and Innovators programs.  Dr. Slade passed away in 2002. 

Now administered by the Portland State University Graduate School of Social Work, Developing Leadership in Reducing Substance Abuse is designed to encourage and support emerging leaders in the field of substance abuse prevention and treatment.  Each DLRSA Fellow receives $75,000 over a three-year period to develop and implement a program to fast track his or her career development and enhance experience and expertise in an issue area. The fellow selects a mentor and participates in educational programs and networking opportunities throughout the fellowship. DLRSA Fellows work across a range of disciplines, including education, policy development, research, clinical treatment and political and legal advocacy.  The program remains funded by The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.

Coverage from the Lexington Herald-Leader (Kentucky) 11/10/04

UK nursing professor honored

     University of Kentucky nursing professor Ellen Hahn has become the second person to receive the American Public Health Association's John D. Slade M.D. Memorial Advocacy Award.  The honor was given yesterday at a meeting in Washington, D.C.  The award is named for the late Slade, who was a tobacco-control advocate and researcher.  Hahn, who is director of the Tobacco Policy Research Program and associate professor in the UK Colleges of Nursing and Public Health, used a fellowship to create the tobacco research program at UK and advocate for a smoking ban in Lexington's public places.