The American Lung Association's Smoking Cessation Expert: Mary Ella Douglas

Mary Ella Douglas has worked for the American Lung Association since 1994 in various positions at the local, state, regional and national levels. She is currently Assistant Vice President of Field Support for the national American Lung Association.

Mary Ella became a Master Trainer of the Freedom From Smoking (FFS) program in 1995. She has trained hundreds of volunteers and staff as trainers and facilitators for the program across the country. In addition, she has facilitated several FFS clinics herself, working directly with participants who quit smoking with the program. She understands the process people go through as they quit smoking and has helped many people begin a new, nonsmoking phase of their lives.

Mary Ella was involved in the development of the Freedom From Smoking Online program, when it began in an AOL chat room in 1996. She developed content for the lessons in each module of the program adapting it from the gold standard FFS Guide for Facilitators. She has updated the program content with each of the three revisions since it first launched on the American Lung Association website in 1999. She continues to facilitate the online program that has helped tens of thousands of people around the world quit smoking.

Mary Ella has a bachelor's degree in Human Services from Virginia Wesleyan College.

If you have a questions for Mary Ella, click here and send us an email.

Your doctor can provide you with support and encouragement, as well as information about medications and counseling that can help you quit smoking. Click here to read answers to some common questions people have while trying to quit smoking.