Board of Directors Bios
Matthew L. Myers, JD
Matthew L. Myers was the President of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids from 2000 to 2023, a leader in the fight to reduce tobacco use and its devastating consequences in the United States and around the world. In 1996, Mr. Myers helped found the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Later, he helped found the Global Health Advocacy Incubator, an initiative of the Campaign that uses the power of advocacy to reduce preventable deaths and to improve health at scale by changing policies and strengthening public health systems. GHAI supports civil society organizations and advocacy movements in more than 30 countries.
Over the last 40 plus years, Mr. Myers has participated in virtually every major US tobacco-related legislative effort, has worked with state tobacco prevention advocates and officials throughout the United States, was engaged in the negotiation of the groundbreaking WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, the world’s only public health treaty, and though his work with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has participated in tobacco control efforts across the globe.
From 1982 to 1996, Mr. Myers represented the Coalition on Smoking OR Health, an organization comprised of the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association, and the American Heart Association. Mr. Myers is a graduate of Tufts University and the University of Michigan School of Law. From 1974 to 1980, Mr. Myers worked at the National Prison Project of the American Civil Liberties Union.
Laura Blaisdell, MD, MPH, FAAP
Laura Blaisdell is a board-certified pediatrician, child health researcher, and advocate. She serves as the Vice President of the Maine AAP, Co-chair of Maine Families for Vaccines, and Trustee to Mercy Hospital in Portland, Maine. Dr. Blaisdell has published research on vaccine hesitation and decision-making among parents, as well as research on successful prevention of infectious disease spread, including SARS-CoV-2, in a camp setting. She spearheaded the successful legislative and referendum effort to remove non-medical exemptions in Maine. Dr. Blaisdell mentors students and residents and teaches evidence-based medicine in her role as Assistant Professor at Tufts University School of Medicine.
Senator Tom Daschle
Senator Daschle is the Chairman of DB3, a full-service, bipartisan strategic consulting firm that provides strategic counsel, political intelligence, advocacy, and media consulting services to carefully selected clients.
Senator Daschle has participated in the development and debate of almost every major public policy issue of the last three decades. In 1978, he was elected to the US House of Representatives, where he served for eight years. In 1986, he was elected to the US Senate and was chosen as Senate Democratic Leader in 1994.
He is one of the longest serving Senate Democratic leaders in history and one of only two to serve twice as both Majority and Minority Leader. During his tenure, he navigated the Senate through some of its most historic economic and national security challenges. In 2003, he chronicled some of these experiences in his book, Like No Other Time: The 107th Congress and the Two Years That Changed America Forever.
Since leaving the Senate, Senator Daschle has remained an active and learned voice among policymakers. As a well-known expert on health policy reform, he has written two books: Critical: What We Can Do About the Health Care Crisis and Getting It Done: How Obama and Congress Finally Broke the Stalemate to Make Way for Health Care Reform.
In the 2013 release of The US Senate: Fundamentals of American Government, he explores the inner workings of this important part of the legislative branch. His latest book, co-authored with former Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott, is entitled Crisis Point, their analysis of the current state of the legislative process in the U.S. Senate.
Senator Daschle has also emerged as a leading thinker on climate change, food security and renewable energy policy. He serves on both advisory and governing boards of several corporate and non-profit organizations.
In 2007, he joined with former Majority Leaders George Mitchell, Bob Dole and Howard Baker to create the Bipartisan Policy Center, an organization dedicated to finding common ground on some of the pressing public policy challenges of our time.
Senator Daschle is Chairs of the National Democratic Institute and the National Institute for Civil Discourse. He serves on the board of Edward M. Kennedy Institute and the LBJ Foundation. He also is a member of the Health Policy and Management Executive Council at the Harvard School of Public Health, the Bipartisan Commission on Biodefense and the Council of Foreign Relations.
Born in Aberdeen, South Dakota, Senator Daschle attended South Dakota State University, graduating in 1969. He then served for three years as an intelligence officer in the US Air Force Strategic Command. Following his military service, he spent five years as an aide to South Dakota Senator James Abourezk.
After leaving the Senate in 2005, Senator Daschle joined Alston & Bird LLP as a special policy advisor and then went on to work in the same role at DLA Piper before establishing The Daschle Group in 2014, and BD3 in 2025. He is married to Linda Hall Daschle and has three children and six grandchildren. He received a B.A. degree in Political Science from South Dakota State University in 1969.
Nirav D. Shah, MD, JD
Nirav D. Shah is an epidemiologist, economist, and attorney. He recently served as the Principal Deputy Director of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In 2015, he was appointed Director of the Illinois Department of Public Health. In 2019, he became Director of the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While in medical school, he worked at the Ministry of Health of Cambodia where he assisted with outbreak investigations and aided the country’s responses to SARS and avian influenza.
Shah is currently a visiting professor at Colby College.
Jonathan White, JD
Jonathan White obtained his S.B. in Biology from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and is a recent graduate of Suffolk University Law School. He is the co-founder and Director of Policy & Engagement for the non-profit public health collective, Hood Medicine Initiative, and co-host to their livestream podcast, Hood Med Chats. As member of Alpha Phi Alpha Fraternity, Inc., the nation’s oldest Black-Greek-Lettered-Organization and public service fraternity founded for collegiate men, Jonathan has been an advocate for social justice issues most of his adulthood. Recognizing a need to protect the most vulnerable and marginalized communities during the pandemic drew him into several efforts to keep others safe. Tapping into his undergraduate studies and training as a researcher and coupling that with his analytical training and ability to communicate complex conversations, Jonathan believed he could make a positive impact that could save lives.
Allison Winnike, JD
Allison Winnike is past President & CEO of The Immunization Partnership. She also serves as an Adjunct Professor at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston School of Public Health. Allison is the Governing Councilor for the American Public Health Association (APHA) Law Section, Vice-Chair of the American Bar Association (ABA) Health Law Section Public Health & Policy Interest Group, and Chair of the Pandemic Vaccine Task Force. She also serves on several boards and committees, including the ABA COVID-19 Task Force, the Conference of Chief Justices Pandemic and Emergency Response Task Force, the Health Law & Policy Institute Advisory Board, and the Immunization Law and Policy Collaboration, where she co-chairs the Resources, Repository, and Curation Committee.
Dorit Rubinstein Reiss, Ph.D.
Dorit Rubinstein Reiss is a Professor at the University of California Hastings School of Law. She received her Ph.D. from the Jurisprudence and Social Policy program at UC Berkeley. Her research and activities are focused on legal and policy issues related to vaccines. Dr. Reiss writes about school mandates, policy responses to non-vaccination, tort issues, and administrative issues related to vaccines.
Debbie McCune Davis
Debbie McCune Davis recently retired as Director for The Arizona Partnership for Immunization (TAPI) after serving in that capacity since February 1996. She developed her knowledge of the community and her skills in coalition development as an active community member and as an elected official serving in the Arizona Legislature. First elected at the age of 27 in 1978, Debbie served a total of 30 years in both the House of Representatives and the Arizona State Senate.
In her local community, Debbie worked with many organizations and task forces to improve the health status of women and children in Arizona. Her reputation for being a knowledgeable advocate for maternal and child health issues has allowed her to build critical relationships with key partners on these issues. In 2012 she was recognized for her advocacy by the Children’s Action Alliance in Phoenix and Every Child By Two, now Vaccinate Your Family in Washington DC. She serves on the Board of Directors of Vaccinate Your Family.
Debbie is married to Glenn Davis, a retired Superior Court Judge. They have a blended family of five adult children and three grandchildren. Both love to travel and learn about history, art and culture around the world. Debbie holds a Bachelor of Science Degree in Sociology from Arizona State University, 1975.
Eve Krief, MD
Dr. Eve Meltzer Krief has been a general pediatrician and child advocate in Huntington, NY for over 25 years. She is a Clinical Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at Zucker School of Medicine.
Dr. Meltzer Krief is an active member of her American Academy of Pediatrics chapter where she co-chairs the Legislative Advocacy Committee and sits on the Committee for School Health and the Executive Council. She has been a member of the Board of Trustees of her local school district since 2021 and has sat on the NYS DOH Tobacco Prevention and Control Advisory Board since 2020. Dr. Meltzer Krief is a member of the steering committee of the Town of Huntington Anti Bias Task Force where she was first appointed in 2019. She ran for the Suffolk County Legislature in 2023.
Dr. Meltzer Krief’s areas of interest include addressing vaccine hesitancy and misinformation, preventing youth addiction to nicotine vaping products, and fighting childhood food insecurity.