Judy Wilkenfeld Award for Tobacco Control Excellence
Award Winners
2011 Awardee: E. Ulysses "Yul" Dorotheo (Philippines)
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids is pleased to announce the winner of the 2011 Judy Wilkenfeld Award for International Tobacco Control Excellence, E. Ulysses "Yul" Dorotheo.
Dr. Dorotheo is a neuro-ophthalmologist, who has been a tobacco control advocate for over ten years. Beginning as a volunteer and after co-founding the FCTC Alliance, Philippines (FCAP), he actively participated as a non-governmental observer in the early negotiations for the FCTC. In 2006, he joined the Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA) as its FCTC Program Manager and the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA) as its Regional Coordinator for ASEAN and the Western Pacific, roles he jointly performed till 2009.
Since 2010, he has been project director for SEATCA’s Southeast Asia Initiative on Tobacco Tax, a five-year project aimed primarily at raising tobacco taxes and prices in Cambodia, Indonesia, Lao PDR, the Philippines, and Vietnam.
From his early campaigning days Yul saw the need to approach tobacco control with a comprehensive approach, grounded in the FCTC and this approach has brought him to work collaboratively with NGOs, governments and international agencies and advocates. He reached out to many people from diverse backgrounds starting with the Philippines first, then internationally through the FCTC negotiations. Yul is an advocate who truly has national, regional and international reach.
The 2011 award was presented at our Youth Advocates of the Year Awards Gala on May 18, 2011, in Washington, DC.
Watch Dr. Dorotheo's speech:
2010 Awardee: Natalya Toropova (Ukraine)
2010 Judy Wilkenfeld Award recipient Natalya Toropova (center) with Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids President Matt Myers and 2009 Wilkenfeld Award recipient Rachel Kitonyo
Natalya Toropova serves as director of the Life Regional Advocacy Center, a non-governmental organization she co-founded in 2009 to serve as a focal point for tobacco control policy in Ukraine and a resource center for tobacco control advocacy in Eastern Europe. Since 2007, Natalya has worked tirelessly to develop political strategies and lead campaigns to strengthen health warnings, increase tobacco taxes, expand smoke-free air protection and ban tobacco marketing in Ukraine.
Natalya played a major role in successful campaigns that resulted in a 40% increase in tobacco taxes in Ukraine in 2009, the adoption of a strong health warning law that will bring European Union-style pictorial and text warnings to tobacco products to the Ukraine, and a successful campaign to expand smoke-free air restrictions. Natalya's effectiveness in building coalitions was a major reason for the passage of these laws.
Natalya received the award at the Campaign's 14th Annual Youth Advocates of the Year Awards held May 12, 2010.
2009 Awardee: Rachel Kitonyo (Kenya)
Rachel Kitonyo of Kenya, our recipient in 2009, is one such exemplary advocate. Rachel established the Institute for Legislative Affairs (ILA) and currently serves as its Executive Director.
The ILA strengthened the stalled Kenyan tobacco control bill and successfully guided it through the Parliamentary approval process. In 2007 the bill became Kenya's Tobacco Control Act, giving Kenya one of the strongest tobacco-control laws in Africa.
Under her leadership in 2006, ILA became the host for KETCA, a new umbrella coalition for non-profit organizations working in tobacco control in Kenya. Rachel is also making a regional impact on African tobacco control. She has helped to draft a constitution for the newly-formed African Tobacco Control Alliance (ATCA) and is currently serving as its chairperson.
2008 Awardee: Laura Salgado (Honduras)
Laura Salgado of Honduras, our inaugural recipient in 2008, is another outstanding activist. Already an accomplished tobacco-control advocate, Laura dramatically expanded her activity since receiving the Judy Wilkenfeld Award.
Most significantly, Laura worked closely on campaigns that improved compliance with the FCTC throughout Latin America, and that led three new countries to become parties to the Framework Convention in 2008: Nicaragua and Colombia in April, and Costa Rica in August.