Allyssa Williams
2020 Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
Kissimmee, FL
From an early age, Allyssa Williams knew she was meant to lead. Growing up, Allyssa’s mother smoked and her brother struggled with severe asthma. Seeing the impact tobacco had on her own family, Allyssa recognized that African Americans bear a heavy burden from tobacco use, and that she herself was at risk. This fueled her passion for tobacco control, and she has dedicated her energy and leadership over the past six years to fighting to protect youth, especially youth of color, from tobacco.
Allyssa has advocated extensively at the local, state, and federal level, including collecting postcards and testifying in support of maintaining funding for Florida’s highly successful tobacco prevention program. Recently, she advocated for her U.S. representative to support the Reversing the Youth Tobacco Epidemic Act, legislation passed by the U.S. House of Representatives that would eliminate flavored tobacco products.
Allyssa currently serves as vice president of Florida’s Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) leadership team. She played a leading role in creating and launching SWAT’s Not a Lab Rat Campaign to combat misinformation about the youth e-cigarette epidemic, which was awarded the 2019 World No Tobacco Day award from the World Health Organization. She was also featured in a national public service announcement for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids highlighting the critical need to address menthol tobacco.