Alia Hazel '11 Named Program Director for Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition

April 21, 2011, Greencastle, Ind. — Alia Hazel, who is scheduled to graduate from DePauw University next month, is the new program director for the Vigo County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Coalition. The Terre Haute Tribune-Star notes, "Hazel has most recently worked for West Central Indiana Educational Service Center assisting with student health programming and with the Safe and Drug-Free School Consortium."

"We are very excited to have Alia be a part of the team," says Brandon Halleck, executive director of CHANCES for Indiana Youth. "Alia brings a lot of qualities to the table that will be important as we work toward the goal of improving the overall health of the residents in the county."

Adds Hazel, the daughter of Wade Hazel, Winona H. Welch Professor of Biology, and Tavia Pigg, assistant director of DePauw's Science Research Fellows program, "I'm so excited to be a part of Chances for Indiana Youth. There has been so much amazing work done in Terre Haute, especially with the recent passing of the smoke-free ordinance. But there is still a lot of work to be done."

The article notes, "The program director works with Vigo County hospital patients as they try to quit using tobacco products, helps mental health providers to educate their clients on the dangers of tobacco use and promotes youth cessation programs. Hazel also will partner with the Minority Health Coalition, teaching classes, meeting with physicians and encouraging businesses to create smoke-free environments for employees and visitors ... The Vigo County Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Program is supported by a grant that is administered by the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation organization at the state level, now in its 10th year."

Read more at the newspaper's website.