GATC Board of Directors

Emmanuelle Béguinot has a degree in political science from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and a master’s degree in information science. After having worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of cultural cooperation programs, she was in charge of studies and missions manager in the private sector before joining the tobacco control community. She is the Director of the CNCT, French national committee for tobacco control and received the WHO Award for her involvement in the fight against smoking. The CNCT is the first NGO in France specialized and involved in the prevention and the protection of people regarding the damages due to tobacco and its industry. The association conducts studies, experimental projects and awareness-raising activities on all the harmful effects of tobacco, as well as advocacy activities to ensure that strong protection measures are adopted and respected. The association regularly takes legal action against tobacco manufacturers and is at the origin of a major case law. It is currently particularly involved for the dissemination of good practices especially for French speaking stakeholders through an information platform called générationsanstabac.org

Emmanuelle Béguinot has a degree in political science from the Institut d’Etudes Politiques de Paris and a master’s degree in information science. After having worked for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the framework of cultural cooperation programs, she was in charge of studies and missions manager in the private sector before joining the tobacco control community. She is the Director of the CNCT, French national committee for tobacco control and received the WHO Award for her involvement in the fight against smoking. The CNCT is the first NGO in France specialized and involved in the prevention and the protection of people regarding the damages due to tobacco and its industry. The association conducts studies, experimental projects and awareness-raising activities on all the harmful effects of tobacco, as well as advocacy activities to ensure that strong protection measures are adopted and respected. The association regularly takes legal action against tobacco manufacturers and is at the origin of a major case law. It is currently particularly involved for the dissemination of good practices especially for French speaking stakeholders through an information platform called générationsanstabac.org

Patricia was born in South Africa and lived and worked there until 2006. By the time she reached adulthood, Patricia was aware that as a white South African she was privileged in ways that she did not merit and that she was living in a society that was fundamentally unjust and unequal. This realization transformed her into an activist for political and social justice. Before Patricia qualified as lawyer in 1993, she worked as a teacher and a teacher of teachers. After South Africa’s first democratic election, she worked as a labour and human rights lawyer and became an advisor to the Cabinet during the Presidencies of Nelson Mandela and Thabo Mbeki. Patricia was appointed as the Chief Delegate and lead negotiator for the drafting of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control. In 2007, she moved to the United States to work with the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, where she built the International Legal Consortium (ILC), a group of experience lawyers who specialize in tobacco control and the implementation of the WHO FCTC. As a team, the ILC has provided legal assistance to almost 100 low- and middle-income countries. Mawya has served as a member of the FCA and GATC Board and is currently chair of the World Heart Federation tobacco control expert group. She has been working in tobacco control since 2006 and leading author for the TII country Index (3 reports). Prior to holding her current positions, she was Director of the Lina and Green Hands Society in Jordan where she worked closely with national/ regional NGOs in the EMRO region in association of WHO and other partners. While becoming a member of GATC (formerly FCA) she received many trainings and obtained certifications in tobacco control while attending many regional /global training, formal meetings for FCTC treaty, and after that working closely demonstrating her expertise in presenting the FCA around EMRO region, involved in training and customizing TC workshops and materials, and translations many related documents, while co-authoring, several articles of the treaty especially related article to WHO MPOWER strategies as well as other article like 5.3,8,13,15. She also played an instrumental role in the formation of the National Tobacco Control Alliance and NCD Alliance. In 2011, Mawya was the recipient of a World No Tobacco Day Award from the WHO and in the same year became cancer control Ambassador.

Alex Wright is Global Lead at Cancer Research UK, with responsibility for CRUK’s International Cancer Prevention programme which has a focus on tobacco control and economics, as well as CRUK’s global partnerships and advocacy to advance effective global cancer control policies. He is also a board member of Smoke Free Partnership Europe. Prior to joining Cancer Research UK in 2021, Alex was Head of Policy & Public Affairs for the Association of Commonwealth Universities, a global membership organisation focussed on higher education’s contribution to sustainable development. Alex has over 20 years’ experience in the international development sector working across programme management, policy, and advocacy. He is also a board member of Smoke Free Partnership Europe.

Prior to joining Cancer Research UK in 2021, Alex was Head of Policy & Public Affairs for the Association of Commonwealth Universities, a global membership organisation focussed on higher education’s contribution to sustainable development. Alex has over 20 years’ experience in the international development sector working across programme management, policy, and advocacy. He has worked as an independent consultant for intergovernmental organisations, membership organisations and foundations, with assignments including advocacy around the drafting of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, and as an NGO Director. Alex also has extensive experience of intergovernmental organisations and negotiations, having worked for the Commonwealth Secretariat, playing a significant role in the organisation of several multi-lateral ministerial meetings, and representing the Commonwealth in international policy forums and working groups.

Master of Public Health, Post Grad Dip (Health Promotion), BAppSci. Kylie is the Senior Advisor for National and International Tobacco Control Policy at Cancer Council New South Wales in Australia. She has worked in tobacco control for over 25 years, holding various positions within both government and non-government organisations. Kylie’s expertise and achievements have resulted in being awarded the Nigel Gray Award for career achievement in tobacco control in Oceania in 2017 and a WHO Director-General Special Recognition Award for the Western Pacific Region on WNTD in 2022.

She is currently Chair of the Board of the GATC and she also manages a major contract provided by the Australian Department of Health to support implementation of the FCTC in the Western Pacific Region via the GATC. Kylie played a key role in the introduction of plain packaging in Australia and worked intensively with colleagues in Ireland, the UK, New Zealand, France, Norway and Canada to assist them when progressing plain packaging in their countries. She continues to collaborate with colleagues in many other regions to provide ongoing advice on all tobacco policy matters. Her work spans all aspects of tobacco control, with expertise in policy, public and political advocacy and legislative development.

Monique Muggli, J.D., M.P.H., is Vice President of the International Legal Consortium which provides legislative, litigation, and advocacy support to civil society and government attorneys and advocates in low and middle- income countries to further the effective implementation of the WHO FCTC. The ILC also offers essential legal resources and delivers advance legal training to lawyers from around the world. Prior to joining the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, Monique was a research and litigation consultant for numerous domestic and international health organizations, as well as for government and private party plaintiffs. In that capacity, Monique led ground-breaking research and published her findings from the once–secret internal tobacco industry documents made public through two U.S. litigation settlements.

Her research contributed to the evidentiary foundation and the then growing global movement to expose the multinational tobacco companies’ efforts to subvert tobacco control measures aimed at protecting the public from their deadly and addictive products. Monique has authored nearly 30 peer-reviewed articles and has prepared several seminal reports for the WHO and its regional offices. Monique is the 2016 recipient of the Alumni Award of Merit from the University of Minnesota, School of Public Health and is a Board Member of the Association for Nonsmokers’ Rights – Minnesota.

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Deborah Chen is the Executive Director of The Heart Foundation of Jamaica (HJF), with over 30 years’ experience in cardiovascular care and extensive experience in the field of tobacco control she has been the driving force behind the continued growth and success of HFJ. A Registered Nurse by profession, she has a specialist certificate in coronary care and holds a Master of Public Health Degree from the University of the West Indies. Deborah is a founding member of and has oversight responsibility for the Jamaica Coalition for Tobacco Control which successfully lobbied for the passage of The Public Health (Tobacco Control) Regulations-2013. She is currently the project director of the Global Health Advocacy Food Policy Project and a Tobacco Control project, a board member of the National NCD Committee in Jamaica and Co-Chair of the Tobacco and Alcohol subcommittee.

She is a past Vice President of the World Heart Federation and former board member of the Healthy Caribbean Coalition; and is also a past board member of the NCD Alliance. Currently, Deborah is the President Elect of the InterAmerican Heart Foundation (IAHF). She is passionate about public health the inequities and injustices in our environment that contribute to the NCD epidemic.

Maria has worked in public health for most of her career, beginning with a focus on illicit drug problem prevention and later alcohol problem prevention while based at a non-profit public health research institute. In 1992, she began working in the field of tobacco control. Maria was responsible for directing teams charged with assessing state-level compliance with federally mandated tobacco control policy and preparing evidence-based guidance to support the effective implementation of policy. In 2010, she began working in international tobacco control when she joined the global division at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, assisting civil society organizations to advocate effectively for FCTC-compliant tobacco control policies. She directed the development of evidence-based materials and oversaw the conduct of field-based evidence generating projects designed to educate and compel policymakers to act in support of fulfilling country obligations under the FCTC. She was also instrumental in developing annual strategic plans for country-level tobacco control policy change campaigns and tracking progress on these plans. Before moving to public health, Maria worked in the field of education, first as a teacher and later as an applied anthropologist, with a focus on the social and political factors that served or undermined education policy goals.

Larissa Al-Uar is a public health advocate and founding member of Tobacco Free Jordan, with over 14 years of experience in tobacco control policy, research, and youth-focused advocacy. Her work spans national, regional, and international levels, from co-authoring Jordan’s Tobacco Industry Interference Index to leading research on tobacco marketing near schools. She regularly engages with policymakers and the public through media commentary, a weekly radio segment, and articles in the national press. Larissa holds a Global Tobacco Control Certificate from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. She mentored young advocates through the Johns Hopkins ASCEND program and trains medical students, journalists, and educators across Jordan. She also represents civil society in national committees like the Tobacco Committee at the Jordan Standard and Metrology Organization, in WHO FCTC processes, including the Article 2.1 Expert Group and COP10/MOP3, promoting child-focused and equity-driven approaches to tobacco control. Coming from a multicultural background and fluent in Arabic, German, and English, Larissa brings a regional lens rooted in the complex realities of the EMRO region—where tobacco use is rising in several countries, and challenges include political instability, a wide array of products on the market, and high levels of industry interference. She maintains strong ties with NGOs across the region and is deeply committed to inclusive, transparent, and community-informed governance.

Mônica Andreis is a psychologist and holds a master’s in Clinic Psychology at University of São Paulo, Brazil. She worked at hospitals (1989-2007) and since 1999 has been working with Tobacco Control. She is co-founder and currently Director of ACT Health Promotion (www.actbr.org.br), a Brazilian NGO created in 2006 to monitor and support the WHO-Framework Convention for Tobacco Control (FCTC) and strengthening the civil society role in the country. Since 2023 ACT became a global partner of the Bloomberg Philanthropies Initiative to Reduce Tobacco Use. Mônica has been participating in activities related to projects management, NGO capacity building, advocacy strategies, campaigns, innovation on health and have regular participation in meetings and conferences at local and global level. ACT coordinates a coalition of over 1800 members from all over the country and has been collaborating for crucial policies adopted in Brazil, such as the smoke free law, tobacco ads and smoking electronic devices ban, taxes and labelling, for instance. In 2009 she completed a Fellowship on the Global Tobacco Control Leadership Program at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Previous member of the Board of Directors of the FCA (now GATC) and current member of the GATC’s Policy Committee and Board of Directors of the IAHF – Inter-American Heart Foundation, as well. She has regular participation in events at national and international levels sharing experiences on topics such as tobacco control, NCDs, Agenda 2030 and civil society role on public policies.

Fatou Diouf is a dynamic, bilingual communications leader with over a decade of experience in strategic communications, advocacy, and policy development. She currently serves as Head of Communications and Influencing at the African Capacity Building Foundation (ACBF), a specialized agency of the African Union. In this role, she leads the Foundation’s communications, advocacy, and branding efforts across the continent—amplifying development impact, designing high-level convenings, and crafting narratives that inspire action and influence policy. Her career spans both regional and global roles, including leading communications campaigns for MoneyGram International, Brussels Airlines, and Royal Air Maroc in the United States. She has managed the branding, communications, and convening for major continental events such as the 2nd Africa Conference on Tobacco Control and Development, the 10th Africa Think Tank Summit, and the 1st International Conference on Taxation of the Digital Economy. Fatou also led digital engagement for the Dakar International Forum on Peace and Security in Africa and directed digital strategy for the Prime Ministry of Mali during an ECOWAS Heads of State Summit. She has worked for the Global Alliance for Tobacco Control, developing advocacy strategies for the AFRO Region and supporting African government participation in WHO FCTC negotiations—advancing public health through inclusive, evidence-based communication. Fatou also played a key role in developing Shine to Lead – Jiggen Jang Tekki, a Senegalese non-profit that empowers girls through education, scholarships, and leadership training, where she served as Executive Director for three years. With global experience, regional insight, and a strong record of delivery, she is passionate about using communication to drive sustainable development.

Judith Mackay OBE, SBS, JP, FRCP (Edin), FRCP (Lon) is the Director, Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control, a Senior Policy Advisor to World Health Organization, and Special Advisor, Global Centre for Good Governance in Tobacco Control. Judith Mackay is a British medical doctor, living in Hong Kong since 1967, initially working as a hospital physician, then since 1984 concentrating on public health, especially tobacco control. She has published over 280 papers and addressed 640 conferences on tobacco control. Her particular interests are tobacco and women, tobacco control in low- and middle-income countries, new tobacco products, and challenging the tobacco industry. She is author or co-author of a dozen atlases – portraying global health statistics in a colourful, graphic format – on health, sex, tobacco, cardiovascular disease, cancer, oral health, and Global Adult Tobacco Surveys. These have been translated into many languages. She is an Honorary Professor in the School of Public Health, University of Hong Kong, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. She has received honorary degrees from the University of Edinburgh and Shue Yan University. She worked with the Bloomberg Initiative from 2006-2020, and with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation on long projects in China, Qatar and Indonesia. In addition to many international and national awards ranging from the WHO Commemorative Medal and the TIME 100 World’s Most Influential People Award to the BMJ Group’s first Lifetime Achievement Award, she has been identified by the tobacco industry as one of the three most dangerous people in the world.