Over the past 20 years, I have worked to build powerful grassroots coalitions to move important public health polices, including, reducing gun violence and teen smoking, and expanding health care access. We have put together a process for doing so that has been used as a model in other states across the country. A key element of this process is making public health a top issue in elections.

My goal at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health is to help train students on how to advance public health issues through the coalition building and voter education model we have used in Maryland. I am looking forward to learning from the students and faculty at the School about good ways to make this model even more effective and how to replicate it in other jurisdictions and on other issues.

Vincent DeMarco, coalition building, voter education, health care access, tobacco control, gun control

2001 -- Reverend Bryce Shoemaker “Ecumenical Leadership Award”

Presented by the Central MD Ecumenical Council for work with the faith

community on important issues.

2000 -- Named “Best Advocate” in Baltimore Magazine for work in reducing gun violence and teen smoking.

2000 -- Recognized (along with the Maryland Children’s Initiative) in a Baltimore Sun front-page article for a key role in the enactment of the tobacco tax increase, resulting in a 16% decrease in cigarette sales in MD.

1994 -- Advocacy work described in a feature article in the Washington Post.

1988 --Named “Marylander of the Year” by the Baltimore Sun.

Missed Chance to Expand Healthcare Glenn E. Schneider and Vincent DeMarco. The Gazette of Politics and Business. July 23, 2004.

For a healthier Maryland; [FINAL Edition]

Peter L. Beilenson and Vincent DeMarco. The Sun. Baltimore, Md.: Jun 16, 2003. pg. 13.A

Forcing change by educating voters Advocacy: Interest groups used polling, coalition-building and election-year publicity to wage disciplined campaigns for gun control and the tobacco tax. Is health insurance next?; [FINAL Edition] Vincent DeMarco and Glenn E. Schneider. The Sun. Baltimore, Md.: Oct 22, 2000. p. 5.F

Elections and Public Health V. DeMarco and G. Schneider. American Journal of Public Health, Vol. 90, No. 10:1513-1514. October 2000.