Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. E-cigarettes, which came onto the market about a decade ago, have been heralded as a means to assist adult smokers in their attempts to quit smoking. And some high-quality research supports this position: adult smokers who switch from cigarettes or cigars to e-cigarettes have had good success in decreasing their use of nicotine and even quitting altogether. The trouble is, e-cigarettes – such as the dominant brand, Juul, which has about 55% market share – have become an appealing avenue to introduce young people to nicotine. According to Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at Massachusetts General Hospital and […]

Claire Fiddian-Green is the President & CEO of the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation. A well-educated population is critical to the vitality of Indianapolis and the continued competitiveness of our state. Unfortunately, too many students graduate from high school unprepared for college or careers. For example, according to the latest report from Indiana’s Commission for Higher Education, 18 percent of students who graduated from high school in Marion County required remediation in math and/or English/language arts upon enrollment in a public college. To help address this challenge, in November 2015 the Richard M. Fairbanks Foundation established new funding priorities, one of which is to improve academic outcomes for Indianapolis students. Being […]