Hello everyone, I'm Lavilla!

Hello, my name is Lavilla Capener, and I am excited to join the SmokeFree team as a policy intern. I am a junior at UW-Madison, majoring in Journalism and Political Science.

I have been passionate about tobacco control since I was a young kid. I would come home from school, after learning about the dangers of tobacco, and tell my parents that they had to stop smoking right away. Unfortunately, it is not that easy. Both of my parents are smokers who have been trying to quit for years without success. I am involved with SmokeFree WI because I believe in educating children (like myself) about the dangers of tobacco use so they don’t end up like my parents who are addicted to a product that Big Tobacco has intentionally marketed to young people.

I look forward to working toward a smoke-free Wisconsin!