Organization & Governance

FAMRI was formally established on September 21, 2000, as a not-for-profit, independent, private foundation pursuant to the laws of the State of Florida and subsequently in 2002 under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code.

Board of Trustees

FAMRI is governed by a Board of Trustees comprised of Class Counsel Stanley M. Rosenblatt, Chairman and CEO, Flight Attendant Trustees Patricia L. Young, Lani Blissard, Kate Jewell, ND, and Florida attorney, John B. Ostrow.

Class Counsel and co-founder Susan Rosenblatt served as Trustee from 2000 until her passing in 2021.

Two Flight Attendant Trustees who died from diseases caused by their exposure to smoke in airline cabins were Bland Lane 2007 who flew for Pan Am and United Airlines and Kathleen Cheney in 2014 who fles for Eastern Airlines.

Medical Advisory Board

FAMRI’s Medical Advisors assist the Trustees on scientific matters make recommendations for the Board’s final grant decisions following a stringent peer-review process conducted by FAMRI’s consultant, the American Institute of Biological Sciences (AIBS) in Reston, Virginia.

Members

David Sidransky, M.D., Director, Head and Neck Cancer Research, Professor of Otolaryngology, Oncology, Pathology, Cellular, and Molecular Medicine and Urology, at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, Maryland, and is Senior Scientific Editor of the 2010 Surgeon General’s Report. Click here for more information.

Jarrard Goodwin, M.D., (retired) was Professor of Otolaryngology, University of Miami, and former head of Sylvester Cancer Center at the University of Miami.

David W. Kennedy, M.D., is Emeritus Professor of Otorhinolaryngology: Head and Neck Surgery, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine. As of July 2024, Dr. Kennedy is Professor, Department of Otolaryngology, Jefferson University Medical School, Philadelphia, PA 19107.

Mark W. Geraci, M.D., Associate Vice Chancellor for Interdisciplinary Research, Health Sciences Professor, School of Medicine, at the University of Pittsburgh.

Rama K. Mallampalli, M.D., Chair, Department of Internal Medicine, at The Ohio State University College of Medicine.

John B. Klein, M.D., MPH, the Marron and Mary Elizabeth Kendrick Professor of Pediatrics and Chief of the Division of Adolescent Medicine at Stanford Medicine Children’s Health, Standford University.

*Julius B. Richmond, M.D., (1916-2008) served as Chairman of the Medical Advisory Board from FAMRI’s inception.
Dr. Richmond was a former U.S. Surgeon General under President Jimmy Carter, founding director of the Head Start Program, and was a John D. MacArthur Professor of Health Policy, Emeritus, at Harvard Medical School. Dr. Richmond’s agreement to testify against the tobacco companies encouraged other medical experts to come forward. His efforts on the Medical Advisory Board were treasured by all.
(see Resources – A History of Surgeon General Reports)

The rich history of FAMRI has been influenced by remarkable individuals over the years. Please click In Memory Of to read about their contributions.

Learn more about secondhand tobacco smoke exposure and the Flight Attendant Trustees.