Developed with Mayo Clinic, EX Program by Truth Initiative is your best strategic partner to end smoking, vaping, and nicotine use.
EX Program is part of Truth Initiative, the largest public health non-profit entirely focused on inspiring lives free from smoking, vaping, and nicotine. Revenue from EX Program supports our mission-driven work to help young adults from smoking, vaping, and using nicotine—and to help them quit, if they’ve started.
By combining evidence-based approaches with creative execution, EX Program maximizes engagement and outcomes for clients.
Truth Initiative’s family of brands has been changing the culture around tobacco use and helping people form identities without tobacco for over 25 years.
In 2008, Truth Initiative partnered with Mayo Clinic to develop a digital tobacco cessation program. Based on this success and the need to reach even more tobacco users, we created EX Program, a digital health program for tobacco addiction for employers, health plans, and governments.
With 8 federally funded studies and over 50 peer-reviewed manuscripts specifically on the EX Program platform, our expertise in developing effective digital quit-tobacco approaches is unrivaled.
Our Mayo Clinic partnership informs our program content, structure, and coaching.
EX Program uses the latest scientific and clinical research from the experts at Mayo Clinic’s Nicotine Dependence Center.
Mayo Clinic’s featured authors provide expert advice in the EX Community to support quit attempts and EXes.
All EX Program coaches have completed Mayo Clinic’s Nicotine Dependence Center Tobacco Treatment Specialist Certification Program, or equivalent training.
EX Program adapts Mayo Clinic’s clinically-validated approach to a digital format, so participants can engage how and where they choose.
Our team members are seasoned professionals, with years of experience in the art and science of treating tobacco dependence and building engaging digital interventions.
Dr. Amanda Graham leads the tobacco cessation efforts of Truth Initiative with a focus on improving the health of the nation. With a Ph.D. in clinical psychology and a distinguished career in behavioral science, she has dedicated her professional life to the intersection of technology and public health, pioneering innovative approaches to tobacco cessation. Internationally acclaimed for her expertise in web and mobile quit-smoking interventions and online social networks, Graham has been awarded over $15 million in research funding. She has also published over 120 peer reviewed manuscripts and serves on National Institutes of Health study sections and numerous journal editorial boards. Graham is Adjunct Professor of Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science, and Adjunct Professor of Oncology at Georgetown University Medical Center. Her professional achievements have earned her Fellow status in the Society of Behavioral Medicine and the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco.
Megan Jacobs is responsible for the design, delivery, and evaluation of innovative digital health solutions at Truth Initiative. Jacobs led the EX Program team responsible for the first evidence-based text messaging program to help e-cigarette users of all ages quit. She formed her expertise in mHealth interventions and public health campaigns with her work at the University of Michigan Health Service, DC Department of Health, and the National Vaccine Program Office. Her public health work over the past 15 years has applied technology to behavior change ranging from adolescent sexual health to vaccinations. Jacobs received her Master of Public Health from the Milken Institute School of Public Health at George Washington University and is also a graduate of the University of Michigan.
Lauren Higgins oversees client success and onboarding for all EX Program clients, leading strategy and efforts to maximize the effectiveness of our Client Success team. She brings over 13 years of experience designing and implementing digital health and wellness programs for employer groups and health plans. Higgins previously held Client Success leadership roles at MeYou Health, QStream, and Personify Health, the world’s #1 health, wellbeing, and navigation platform. She is a graduate of Bryant University.
Stacy Freeborg-Junge oversees promotions to boost—and sustain—participation in the EX Program. She brings 20+ years of marketing experience, including 15 years specifically promoting wellbeing solutions to participants. She has previously held marketing roles at PayCheck Direct, a financial wellness solution, and HealthFitness, a corporate wellness, fitness, and injury prevention company. Freeborg-Junge has received numerous marketing awards for creative execution, including the Aster Award, Impact Award, and Hermes Creative Award. She is a graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College.
Dr. Jessie Saul brings 19 years of experience in research, program evaluation, and strategic implementation around tobacco cessation. She applies this deep understanding to improve EX Program performance and reduce tobacco use among populations. She earned her Ph.D. in Science and Technology Studies from Cornell University.
Doug Harris is responsible for managing all technical aspects of the EX Program, including software development staff, IT operations, and technology direction. He has over 30 years of experience coding, designing software applications, and leading software teams using agile development methods. Harris leads the team responsible for building innovative digital tobacco cessation products and improving the EX platform. He is a graduate of Vassar College.
Tasmia Naz leads the data team and oversees its many data analytics functions and reporting for the EX Program and our clients. Prior to joining Truth Initiative, Naz worked as a data scientist at Civis Analytics where she supported public sector and nonprofit clients to define business problems and translate them into data products and analytics solutions. She also previously worked at Westat where she developed and ran statistical analyses and prepared reports for federal clients and manuscripts for publication for the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health (PATH) Study. She received her Master of Science in Public Health from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Sarah Cha oversees all research and evaluation activities for the EX Program. She has over a decade of experience in developing and evaluating digital tools for tobacco use cessation, including websites, mobile apps, and text message-based programs. Cha has overseen recruitment of large clinical trials (combined 14K+ participants), including multiple NIH-funded R01s. She has served on the advisory committee of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco’s Health Equity Network since 2018. She received her Master of Science in Public Health in Health Education and Health Communication from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.
Robert Falk is a healthcare attorney with 15 years of private practice experiences at prominent national law firms and over a decade in the nonprofit sector. Prior to joining Truth Initiative, Falk served for 11 years as the general counsel and corporate secretary of the Human Rights Campaign, the nation’s largest LGBTQ civil rights organization. He has advised both the Human Rights Campaign and the Human Rights Campaign Foundation on legal issues including election and campaign finance law, nonprofit tax issues, real estate, human resource matters, and intellectual property. Before the Human Rights Campaign, he served as general counsel of the Whitman-Walker Clinic, an HIV/AIDS social service agency, and as acting general counsel at D.C. General Hospital. He is a recipient of the Human Rights Campaign’s Ally of Justice award. Falk is a graduate of Yale Law School and Princeton University.
