The American Lung Association has added several new prominent Arizona business leaders to its Leadership Board as need for information and services for those with respiratory disease continues to grow throughout the Southwest. To bolster its strength in the state and assist the 937,206 Arizonans living with lung disease, the American Lung Association in Arizona is welcoming four new board members.
The new Arizona Leadership board members are: Phoenix resident and health psychologist Rena Perry-Szabo, Psy.D., C.A.A.D.C., T.T.S, M.A., M.Ed., L.P., Banner MD Anderson Cancer Center’s Psycho Oncology Section director; Scottsdale resident Matthew Earl Jones, director, Arizona Film & Digital Media Program, Arizona Commerce Authority; healthcare construction veteran and Phoenix resident Andrew Ptashnjuk, founder of commercial general contracting firm, Smart Builders, LLC; and Tucson resident Lynn B. Gerald, Ph.D., M.S.P.H., distinguished outreach professor, Canyon Ranch endowed chair and professor in the Department of Health Promotion Sciences in the College of Public Health, University of Arizona and associate director of Clinical Research for the Asthma and Airways Disease Research Center.
Left to right: Rena Perry-Szabo, Matthew Earl Jones, Andrew Ptashnjuk and Lynn B. Gerald.
“We are excited to welcome our new Leadership Board Members to continue and expand the work of the American Lung Association in Arizona during these crucial times for public health,” said Tammy Rocker, executive vice president for the American Lung Association. “Now, more than ever, we need additional public health leadership to protect the lung health of all Arizonans. We firmly believe our newest Leadership Board members, working alongside Chair Grant Smedley and Executive Director for Arizona, Elizabeth Walton, are the right people to increase awareness, programs and lifesaving research for lung health throughout our state.”
“Arizona has seen elevated rates of lung cancer, an extended period of increased COVID-19 incidence rates and sky-rocketing use of e-cigarettes by youth,” said Executive Director, Elizabeth Walton. “With our newly elected Board, strong community involvement, and steadfast promotion of programs such as the Flavors Hook Kids – Phoenix campaign, The American Lung Association in Arizona will continue to expand its commitment and leadership role in lung health and prevention of lung disease.”
The American Lung Association is the leading organization working to save lives by improving lung health and preventing lung disease through education, advocacy and research. The work of the American Lung Association is focused on four strategic imperatives: to defeat lung cancer; to champion clean air for all; to improve the quality of life for those with lung disease and their families; and to create a tobacco-free future.
