Madeleine Solomon is a state advocacy consultant specializing in tobacco issues and staff development for the Office of State Advocacy, American Heart Association. Madeleine provides technical assistance and training to AHA staff throughout the U.S. who are promoting state tobacco control policy. She also heads up the DC-based AHA tobacco team that provides media advocacy, direct and grassroots lobbying and policy research on federal tobacco issues. Prior to joining the AHA, Madeleine was an independent consultant working with the Tobacco Technical Assistance Consortium where she was the creative producer/editor of “Reaching Higher Ground” a guide for coalitions. Madeleine’s other tobacco policy-related positions included serving as a consultant to the Advocacy Institute on developing coaching/mentoring programs; providing technical assistance on coalition development and advocacy to 24 state coalitions in the SmokeLess States National Policy Initiative; working for the American Heart Association as an affiliate advocacy director where accomplishments included the acquisition of a SmokeLess States grant, and numerous tobacco-related, access to care, physical education and nutrition policy victories.