California Youth Advocate Nominated National Youth Advocate of the Year
Breathe California Sacramento Region (BCSR) and the California Youth Advocacy Network (CYAN) are proud to announce that Milton Nguyen has been presented with the 2021 Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year Award by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids! The Barrie Fiske National Youth Advocate of the Year Award goes to the top senior applicant who has demonstrated a significant commitment to commercial tobacco prevention in their state and community.
Milton has been involved in local tobacco education and advocacy with Breathe California since 2018. During his time volunteering with BCSR, he has been the Breathe Youth Advisory Board (YAB) President and an active member of the Thumps Up! Thumbs Down! (TUTD) Program. Milton has become a dedicated member to both youth tobacco control programs. He is consistently taking on additional opportunities offered to club members and has been instrumental in growing both clubs with recruitment efforts. Over the last three years in YAB, Milton has demonstrated a continually growing knowledge of health equity and local policy advocacy procedures. Milton has participated in advocating for policies in the areas of smoke-free parks, smoke-free multi-unit housing, tobacco retail licensing programs and restricting the sale of flavored tobacco products in multiple jurisdictions across Sacramento County. He has also led the Youth Advisory Board in holding an annual smoke-and tobacco-free PSA video contest for members of the community to become advocates themselves. As a member of TUTD, Milton collects and analyzes data on tobacco content in films – a responsibility that demands high attention to detail and sharp critical thinking skills. The data he collects contributes to the largest database on tobacco in movies in the world.
In 2019, Milton joined the California Youth Advocacy Network’s Statewide Youth Board of Directors. Over the past three years, has been a pivotal part of the CYAN team where he has helped develop an online Tobacco 101 module to educate his peers on the harms of commercial tobacco and nicotine products, prepared talking points for young people advocating for local smoke and commercial tobacco-free multi-unit housing initiatives, and worked with his peers to develop the theme, key messages, talking points, and logo for Youth Quest.
Milton is dedicated, dependable, and has proven that he has an exceptional ability to work cooperatively with his peers and adult partners. His leadership, commitment and passion are impressive, and he embodies the mission and values of the tobacco prevention movement. Milton has undoubtedly made a profound impact on his local, statewide, and national tobacco prevention movements and we wanted to share his huge accomplishment with our colleagues and partners in the field. Congratulations Milton!
Written by: Taylor Beckwith, Danielle Driscoll, and Marissa Greenband from Breathe California Sacramento Region in collaboration with Nicole Morgan from the California Youth Advocacy Network