About TOFCO: Our Staff and Board of Directors

Brett W. Hamilton

Executive Director

Hamilton became the executive director of the Tobacco Free Coalition of Oregon, Inc in August of 2009. Prior to becoming the executive director of the Tobacco Free Coalition of Oregon, Inc he was Managing Director of Public and Professional Education at the Oregon Dental Association where he advocated for improved oral health care. This experience afforded him the opportunity to lead two statewide water fluoridation campaigns.

Hamilton received a Masters of Public Administration from The Daniel J. Evans School of Public Affairs at University of Washington where he is focused on Urban Affairs after returning from Senegal where he served as small business development volunteer with the U.S. Peace Corps.

Charles Tauman, President

Attorney, Charles S. Tauman, PC

Charles Tauman has been the President of the Tobacco-Free Coalition of Oregon since 2004. In that capacity, he has guided TOFCO’s work in tobacco control and policy and anti-tobacco advocacy and programming. A trial lawyer for almost 35 years, Tauman has specialized since 1998 in tobacco litigation representing individuals and class actions against the tobacco industry in the trial and appellate courts of Oregon and Washington and before the US Supreme Court. He is the head of the Tobacco Trial Lawyers Association, a nationwide group of lawyers who specialize in anti-tobacco litigation. Tauman also served on the American Lung Association of Oregon board of directors and is currently on the ALA Mountain Pacific regional board. In addition to his work in tobacco litigation and tobacco control, Tauman has extensive experience in political consulting and legislative advocacy.

Donald Austin, PhD, MPH

Professor Emeritus, Public Health and Preventive Medicine, OHSU

Dr. Don Austin is a medical epidemiologist, board certified in preventive medicine, with a primary interest in cancer. In addition, Austin has interests in the epidemiology of other chronic diseases, (including diabetes and Alzheimer’s disease), in chronic disease control programs (including tobacco control), in systems for conducting surveillance of and research on chronic diseases, and the delivery of preventive care within managed care systems. Austin has published on epidemiologic aspects of a number of cancers and related topics. Austin is the current President of the Board of Directors for the Oregon Public Health Association.

Shannon Brewer Riggs

Account Supervisor, LANE PR

Shannon Brewer Riggs has more than a decade of health communication experience and was recently selected by PR Week as its 2009 Young PR Professional of the Year. During her tenure at LANE PR, Shannon has managed public relations for a variety of clients including Umpqua Bank, Whole Health Management, Adventist Medical Center, Integra Telecom and American Lung Association in Oregon.

One of the most recognized movements Shannon co-founded was truth, a national youth-led anti-corporate tobacco movement. In addition to aiding in the development of the national movement, Shannon served as spokesperson for the organization and was featured in Ad Week, Vegetarian Times, Teen People, Cosmo Girl, the Washington Post and on C-SPAN. Through her work on the national truth campaign, she coordinated youth tobacco prevention and control initiatives specific to the Asian American, Native American and African American populations.