Presenter

Kim Bayha serves as the Tobacco Prevention & Control Program Supervisor at Mecklenburg County Public Health in the Office of Chronic Disease Policy & Prevention. In this role she leads comprehensive tobacco prevention and control initiatives across Mecklenburg County and oversees regional tobacco control efforts in the 11 counties of NC Health Region 4. With a Bachelor of Science in Public Health from UNC-Chapel Hill’s Gillings School of Global Public Health and over 35 years of experience in public health, Kim has worked across community, governmental, business and school settings. She specializes in tobacco prevention and control focusing on policy, systems, and environmental changes with a heart for health equity. A nationally certified tobacco treatment specialist, she has extensive experience as a speaker and facilitator delivering workshops, webinars, classes, mentoring sessions and trainings at local, state and federal levels. She led the development of a Tobacco-Free Behavioral Health initiative in Mecklenburg and the region called Change for Life: Tobacco-Free Recovery which is now a statewide coalition. Kim is passionate about health communications, having led a number of tobacco awareness and cessation community campaigns. Kim’s deep knowledge of North Carolina tobacco control history and policy initiatives informs her work in advocacy, prevention, cessation, coalition building, partner relationships, and innovation.