INnovate 2023 - Speakers
Jennifer Bacci, Pharm.D., M.P.H., BCACP
Endowed Associate Professor of Innovative Pharmacy Practice
University of Washington
Dr. Bacci is the Endowed Associate Professor of Innovative Pharmacy Practice at the University of Washington School of Pharmacy (UWSOP) in Seattle, Washington. Her research focuses on the application of implementation science to evaluate and advance the adoption of innovative patient care models in community pharmacy practice. She has investigated the implementation of a variety of community pharmacy-based patient care services and practice management supports, including childhood and adult vaccinations, point-of-care testing, chronic disease management, pharmacist prescribing, and medical billing.
Dr. Bacci remains highly engaged in practice as a member of the Washington State Pharmacy Association (WSPA) Board of Directors, a network facilitator for CPESN WA, a clinically integrated network of independent pharmacies in Washington State, and as a leader in the Academic-CPESN Transformation (ACT) Pharmacy Collaborative, a nationwide collaboration to support and facilitate community pharmacy practice transformation efforts.
Dr. Bacci completed her Pharm.D. at PittPharmacy in 2011 followed by followed by a PGY-1 community-based pharmacy residency with PittPharmacy and Rite Aid. After working full-time in community practice, she returned to PittPharmacy to complete a two-year community pharmacy research fellowship and master’s degree in public health.
Jordana Berry, MBA
Director of Admissions
Mercer University
Jordana Berry currently serves as the Director of Admissions for Mercer’s College of Pharmacy. Prior to her current position, she served as the Associate Director for Student Affairs and Admissions for the College and held positions in University Advancement at both Mercer and Saint Leo. In her current position, she leads the College’s recruitment and admissions operations and works closely with administration, faculty, students, alumni, and others to create a personalized and streamlined admissions experience for prospective students. She has served on AACP’s PharmCAS Advisory Committee, Liaison International’s CAS Advisory Committee, and is currently serving on the PharmGrad Advisory Committee. She holds a B.A. in Writing & Editing from Western Carolina University and an MBA from Mercer University.
Adam Betz, MHA
Chief Administrative Officer
The Ohio State University
Adam Betz received his bachelor’s degree in finance from The Ohio State University Fisher College of Business in 1999 and his master's degree in healthcare administration from The Ohio State University College of Public Health in 2013. After spending more than 12 years in healthcare administration, Adam came to The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy in 2014 as the Assistant Director of Clinical Business Operations. In 2019, Adam was appointed as the college’s Chief Administrative Officer. During his tenure with the college, Adam has initiated or led innumerable projects and initiatives to optimize college operations and maximize fiscal resources.
Easton Bracey
Fourth-year Pharm.D. Candidate
University of South Florida
Easton is a fourth-year Doctor of Pharmacy student at the University of South Florida Health Taneja College of Pharmacy (USF TCOP). In addition to obtaining his Doctor of Pharmacy degree this upcoming May, Easton is enrolled in the pharmacy and health education concentration, where he will earn his pharmacy teaching certification. Easton has held several leadership positions including student honor committee vice chair of education, orientation committee member, USF TCOP admissions committee member, student delegate coordinator, student delegate director, student delegate executive director, and class president. In addition to his education and leadership roles, Easton is a pharmacy intern at Winter Haven Hospital, BayCare Health System and Synchrony Pharmacy in Tampa, Fla. Easton is committed to pursuing a career in pharmacy academia and looks forward to sharing his knowledge with future pharmacy students as he soon enters the pharmacy field.
Diane Calinski, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Chair of Pharmaceutical and Graduate Life Sciences
Manchester University
Dr. Calinski is an AACP member, and associate professor and chair of pharmaceutical and graduate life sciences at Manchester University. She earned her Ph.D. in pharmacology from the University of Michigan in 2013 before joining the faculty at Manchester. While at Manchester, she helped launch the first-ever master’s in pharmacogenomics (M.S. in PGx). She enjoys teaching in both the Pharm.D. and M.S. in PGx programs, on campus and online. She also works with Pharm.D. students in her research laboratory in understanding cytochrome P450s-mediated metabolism of the illicit drugs of abuse, the synthetic cathinones, also known as “bath salts.” In 2018, Dr. Calinski received the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) New Investigator Award for her proposal on synthetic cathinone-mediated inhibition of the cytochrome P450 CYP2D6. Dr. Calinski serves as the immediate-past chair for the AACP Biological Sciences Section and as the chair for the Department of Pharmaceutical and Graduate Life Sciences at Manchester. In her free time, she enjoys walking her dog and practicing yoga.
Renae Chesnut, Ed.D., MBA, R.Ph.
Dean, College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences
Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Drake University
Dr. Chesnut has served as dean and professor of pharmacy practice at the Drake University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences since 2015. Prior to serving as dean, Dr. Chesnut held the roles of associate dean for academic & student affairs, and assistant dean for student affairs, and before joining Drake in 1993, was a sales and marketing representative for Eli Lilly & Co.
As dean, Dr. Chesnut has been instrumental in the development, implementation, and accreditation of the college’s occupational therapy doctorate (OTD) program as well as master’s degrees in athletic training (MAT), healthcare informatics and analytics (MSHIA), and clinical psychopharmacology (MSCP). In addition, she has worked with campus and community partners to develop several joint degree programs for pharmacy and health sciences students. She was elected to the Drake University Faculty Senate for three terms, and was the faculty athletic representative to the NCAA and Missouri Valley Conference between 2000-2016. She is active with the Des Moines Area Interprofessional Collaborative, serving as the chair during 2015-16 and 2020-2021.
Through her leadership and administration of the Drake University CPHS’s DELTA Rx Institute, she has helped to further the Institute’s mission to instill a “spirit of change and innovation in the pharmacy profession.” The DELTA Rx Institute promotes entrepreneurial leadership in pharmacy, creating leaders who work to advance the profession of pharmacy by identifying and pursuing new opportunities to create value for patients and society.
Dr. Chesnut has served on a several committees and leadership roles in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP), most recently being elected to the AACP Board of Directors and serving as the chair of the Council of Deans during 2021-2022. She also serves on the Board of Directors for SafeNetRx, the Central Iowa LifeServe Blood Center, OneroRx, and as a public member to the American Board of Wound Management. She is a past president of the Iowa Pharmacy Association and the Central Iowa Pharmacists Association.
William J. Cooper, MBA
Senior Associate Dean for Administration & Finance
University of Maryland
William “Bill” J. Cooper holds a BBA in Accounting from Temple University and an MBA from Drexel University. Prior to his current position at the School of Pharmacy, he served as an Assistant Comptroller, Comptroller, Acting Associate Vice President and Vice President. His experience includes proposing and negotiating indirect costs rates, managing over $500M+ in capital construction and oversight of extensive renovations/deferred maintenance. He has been an Assistant Comptroller and Comptroller managing extensive restricted funds for a large university. In his current capacity for the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Bill has oversight on Resource Management, Human Resources, Facilities and Laboratory Services, along with oversight of IT and Multimedia Support Services. He is also responsible for strategic advancement of developing new sources of revenue and managing costs along with long term forecasting/modeling.
Janet P. Engle, Pharm.D., Ph.D. (Hon), FAPhA, FCCP, FNAP
Executive Director
Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education
Dr. Engle is the executive director of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education (ACPE). She is past president of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), the national professional society of pharmacists with more than 60,000 members. She has served as a voting member of the FDA Nonprescription Drug Advisory Committee and continues as a special government employee consultant to FDA. Dr. Engle is a past member of the Board of Directors of the Board of Pharmacy Specialties. Dr. Engle was elected as a distinguished practitioner in the National Academies of Practice in Pharmacy. Dr. Engle has also been named a fellow of the APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management and a Fellow of the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. She also has received the APhA Distinguished Achievement Award for Clinical/Pharmacotherapeutic Practice.
Dr. Engle is an internationally recognized expert on the topics of nonprescription medicines, pharmacy education, and leadership and is very active in international pharmacy. She has served as chair of the ACPE International Commission and is serving a third term as overseas expert of the Post Graduate Allied Health Institute Board at Singapore General Hospital. Dr. Engle has worked with National Taiwan University and was a guest professor at Harbin Medical University in China. She worked with the Pharmacy Council of Thailand and received an honorary Ph.D. in pharmaceutical sciences from Khon Kaen University in Thailand. She has served as a consultant to the Western Pacific Region of the World Health Organization. She has practiced pharmacy in community, hospital, long-term care and pharmacy-directed ambulatory clinic settings.
Christopher K. Finch, Pharm.D., FCCM, FCCP
Chair and Professor
University of Tennessee Health Science Center
Dr. Finch (chair and professor, University of Tennessee Health Science Center, College of Pharmacy) was born in Memphis, Tenn. He received a bachelor’s degree in chemistry from Lambuth University in Jackson, Tenn., and his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy in Memphis. He completed a specialized residency in internal medicine at the University of Tennessee. Dr. Finch taught for two years at Auburn University School of Pharmacy and the University of Alabama School of Medicine before moving back to his hometown of Memphis in the summer of 2003. While in Memphis, Dr. Finch served in several roles during his 16 years at Methodist Healthcare, University Hospital, including the director of pharmacy for the last five years before leaving for UTHSC. As chair, he continues to coordinate and teach in the Pharmacy Professional Development course and several other courses at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. His clinical interests include pulmonary disease, drug interactions, adverse drug events, and drug-induced disease. Dr. Finch has published over 70 manuscripts in several well-recognized pharmacy and medical journals and has been an invited speaker at several national medical and pharmacy conferences. He is a fellow in both the American College of Critical Care Medicine and the American College of Clinical Pharmacy. He was selected Pharmacist of the Year in 2019 by the Tennessee Pharmacist Association.
David J. Friedman
Author
Founder and CEO
High Performing Culture
David is an award-winning CEO, entrepreneur, author and renowned public speaker. In 2011, he published his first book, Fundamentally Different, which is based on the insights he learned and taught throughout his leadership career. In 2021 he published the second edition of his book, Culture by Design, the definitive “how to” manual for building a high-performance culture — even in the new remote work environment. His current company, High Performing Culture, has helped hundreds of companies throughout North America to implement his culture operating system, CultureWise®.
Nidhi Gandhi, Pharm.D.
Associate Director of Research Programs and Special Initiatives
AACP
Dr. Gandhi is the associate director of research programs and special initiatives at the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP). She leads research posters and new investigator award grant, along with projects and initiatives related to the AACP Transformation Center (ATC) to accelerate pharmacy practice and innovate pharmacy education through collaborations and partnerships with pharmacists, students, other healthcare disciplines, colleges/schools of pharmacy, and other stakeholders within and outside of the pharmacy profession.
She graduated from Wingate University School of Pharmacy with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree in 2018. She completed a PGY1 Community-based Pharmacy Residency with Albertsons Companies and Rosalind Franklin University of Medicine and Science in Schaumburg, Ill., in 2019 where she contributed to research, new service, and quality improvement initiatives to expand patient care services on naloxone dispensing and administration of Gardasil vaccine within the community. She then completed a 2-year Academic Leadership and Education Fellowship at AACP in 2021, where she contributed to various projects focused on Strategic Priority 3: Innovation in Education and Practice including Professional Affairs, Academic Affairs, Strategic Engagement, Interim and Annual Meetings and collaborated with national pharmacy and healthcare associations on initiatives that focused on transforming pharmacy practice and education. Dr. Gandhi’s professional interests include advancing pharmacy practice and education through research initiatives and collaboration with academic and practice leaders as well as other healthcare disciplines to help expand the role of pharmacists.
Patric Gaspard
Third-year Pharm.D. Candidate
Florida A&M University
Patric is a third-year doctor of pharmacy candidate attending Florida A&M University Institute of Public Health, from Boynton Beach, Florida. He is a second-generation college student and is an aspiring first-generation doctor. He currently serves as the regent and chaplain for The Delta Iota chapter of Kappa Psi Pharmaceutical Fraternity Incorporated, as well as the Director of national engagement for the Gamma Zeta chapter of IPHO. Patric also has participated in research at FAMU, under the division of Dr. Lee and as a contributor to an upcoming research project under the supervision of Dr. Spates. Patric has participated in and organized various events to serve the community such as health fairs, AIDS walks, the Grape Harvest Festival, and many more. Patric continues to work diligently until he can achieve his goal of acquiring a fellowship in order to become a Medical Science Liaison within the field of industrial pharmacy.
Diane B. Ginsburg, Ph.D., M.S., R.Ph., FASHP
Clinical Professor and Interim Head, Pharmacy Practice Division
Associate Dean for Healthcare Partnerships
G.D. Searle Endowed Fellow in Pharmacy
University of Texas at Austin
Dr. Ginsburg completed her B.S. in pharmacy at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 1984 and a M.S. at the University of Houston College of Pharmacy in 1990. She completed a two-year ASHP-accredited residency in hospital pharmacy administration in 1987 at The Methodist Hospital in Houston, Texas. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in higher education administration and leadership in the College of Education at the University of Texas at Austin. She is currently a clinical professor and interim head in the Pharmacy Practice Division, associate dean for healthcare partnerships, and G.D. Searle Endowed Fellow in Pharmacy at the University of Texas at Austin, College of Pharmacy. She is also a Gallup-certified strengths coach.
She has been active with the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP) and served as president and a three-year term on the Board of Directors. She has served ASHP in several capacities including: chair, Council on Educational Affairs, AJHP Editorial Advisory Board, Texas delegate, co-coordinator National Clinical Skills Competition. She is co-editor of Infectious Disease Pharmacotherapy Self-Assessment and an author and editor of ASHP’s Preceptor’s Handbook for Pharmacists. She was inducted as fellow the ASHP in 1998. She also served as chair of the ASHP Research and Education Foundation Board of Directors.
She is a past president of the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists and TSHP Research & Education Foundation. She has received several honors and awards including the 2005 Distinguished Alumnus Award from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy and is a 2016 recipient of the Texas Ex Students Association Texas Ten Award recognizing the 10 most talented and inspiring professors at the University of Texas at Austin.
Dr. Ginsburg is internationally known for her work on ethics and the legal and regulatory aspects of pharmacy and healthcare.
Laura Gorospe, MBA
Director of Finance and Administration
Chapman University
Laura Gorospe currently serves as the Director of Finance and Administration at Chapman University School of Pharmacy. Her previous experience includes roles in Budget Planning and Academic Financial Operations for the central university administration, and in her current role she oversees the fiscal, business, and administrative operations for the school of pharmacy. Laura has been a member of the Education Committee for the AFO-SIG since 2018 and currently serves as the AFO-SIG Chair.
Christopher P. Harlow, Pharm.D., BCGP
Executive Director
Kentucky Board of Pharmacy
Dr. Harlow is the executive director of the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy. Dr. Harlow is a 2010 graduate of University of Kentucky and completed a community pharmacy practice residency through the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy and American Pharmacy Services Corporation. Dr. Harlow served on the Board of Directors of the Kentucky Pharmacists Association from 2014-2020 including roles of Speaker of the House and President of the Association. He is currently a member of the American Pharmacists Association Policy Review Committee and served on past policies committees and House of Delegates within APhA.
T. Kristopher Harrell, Pharm.D., M.A., FASHP
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs
Professor of Pharmacy Practice
The University of Mississippi
Dr. Harrell has been in academia and practiced as a pharmacist for more than 20 years. He received his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from The University of Mississippi. He completed postgraduate residency training at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Health System and a second primary care residency at The University of Mississippi Medical Center. He also received a Master of Arts degree in Higher Education and Student Personnel from The University of Mississippi. Prior to assuming his current academic dean role four years ago, Dr. Harrell was the director of experiential education for 12 years.
Eric J. Johnson, MBA, M.S.-M.I.S., CPA
Senior Associate Dean for Administration and Finance
University of Oklahoma
Eric J. Johnson currently serves as the senior associate dean for administration and finance at the University of Oklahoma’s College of Pharmacy. In this position, he provides oversight and makes recommendations to the dean for all financial aspects of the College including budgets and pharmacy operations, HR, Information Technology, and infrastructure; and he also teaches Pharmacy Business and Entrepreneurship. He graduated from Cameron University with a Bachelor of Accounting and from the University of Oklahoma with a Master of Business Administration and a Master of Science in Management Information Systems. He has passed the exam for the Certified Public Accountant designation and the Certified Internal Auditor designation. Eric serves his campus, community, and profession in a variety of roles including committee leadership, journal reviewing, and public education.
Richard J. Kasmer, Pharm.D., J.D.
Dean, College of Pharmacy
Vice President, Academic Affairs
Northeast Ohio Medical University
Dr. Kasmer is dean of the College of Pharmacy and vice president, Academic Affairs, at the Northeast Ohio Medical University in Rootstown, Ohio. Dr. Kasmer has 30+ years of diversified clinical, development, operations and leadership experience. A strategic minded individual with a documented history of building and leading teams to accomplish short- and long-term goals & objectives. His primary area of expertise is Pharmacy Law and legal related matters.
Robert Lamb, Jr., MBA, CIA, CFE
Director of Finance and Administration
Mercer University
Robert (Bob) Lamb, Jr., is currently the Director of Finance and Administration for the Mercer University College of Pharmacy. He has held this role for more than eleven years, and during part of this time had additional financial and administrative responsibility for the College of Health Professions and its physical therapy clinic. During the last two years, Bob has also served as a special assistant for financial modeling and budgeting to the dean of the Georgia Baptist College of Nursing.
Bob has been a member of AACP for eleven years, and he currently serves as a member of the Finance Committee, the Investment Committee, and the Audit Committee. Previously, he served in the roles of chair elect, chair and past chair of the Administrative and Financial Officers SIG of AACP and as a member of the SIG Cabinet. He also served as the membership representative for the South region. Bob graduated from the Terry College of Business of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in Marketing and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance. During his time at UGA, Bob was a member of Phi Chi Theta and Sigma Iota Epsilon honorary management fraternity.
Lisa Lebovitz, J.D., M.S.
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs and Assessment
University of Maryland
Lisa is assistant dean of academic affairs and assessment at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She oversees the School’s strategic planning process and annual monitoring, faculty effort analysis and reporting, programmatic assessment of ten degree programs, and institutional reporting to the University of Maryland Baltimore campus, University System of Maryland, and professional program and regional accrediting agencies. Lisa works closely with department chairs and faculty constituents in multiple committee forums to garner buy in, promote transparency and engage individuals in critical assessment to improve evidence-based decision making in the School. She also serves as the School’s representative on the Pharmacy Assessment Collaborative of the Big Ten Academic Alliance and is an active member in the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy’s Assessment Special Interest Group. She has published and presented on many topics such as pharmacist workforce trends, faculty diversity, and other areas of interest to pharmacy school leadership. Find her published works in Scopus and poster presentations in HSHSL Digital Archive.
Cameron C. Lindsey, Pharm.D., M.P.H.
Chair, Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration
Professor
University of Missouri-Kansas City
Dr. Lindsey is the chair of the Division of Pharmacy Practice and Administration at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy. She is a tenured professor and has been actively involved with student pharmacists via didactic, experiential, and co-curricular learning venues in addition to her advisory role for the campus’ APhA-ASP and Kappa Epsilon Fraternity chapters. She has been board-certified in advanced diabetes management since 2003, a certified diabetes care and education specialist since 2009, and a board-certified ambulatory care pharmacist since 2011. She is a certified immunizing pharmacist and has been educating students and pharmacists to become certified since 2004. She has been creative in leading multiple co-curricular activities over the years including community engagement projects, academic-service learning experiences, international missions, student leadership, and advocacy for the uninsured.
To assist patients, Dr. Lindsey has practiced and conducted research in a wide array of settings. Recently, she has led the school’s efforts to provide COVID-19 vaccine delivery across the Kansas City area and to our own UMKC faculty/staff and student family while also leveraging the school’s resources to help those in need across the state. She recently completed her appointment housed at the Clay County Public Health Center. Prior to that, she had instituted clinical pharmacy services at the local Veterans Affairs Medical Center and continued to expand her patient outreach having a 14-year presence as director of the patient assistance program at the Shared Care Free Health Clinic of Jackson County until its closure in June 2014. She, along with a dedicated group of students, obtained donated medications from drug companies free of charge with contributions reaching close to $9 million. Her scholarly activities have resulted in numerous papers, manuscripts, and a book chapter.
Some of Dr. Lindsey’s proudest accomplishments include her receipt of seven local teaching awards, the Governor’s Award for Teaching, the UMKC Student Government Outstanding Advisor Award, and the national APhA-ASP and KE Advisor of the Year Awards. She has been recognized by her state pharmacy association as a “Pharmacist Making a Difference” and “Outstanding Teacher Award” along with receiving Ingram’s “Heroes in Healthcare Award” and the KE Merck Vanguard Leadership in Pharmacy award. Recently, she was recognized as the UMKC Board of Trustees 2021 Leo E. Morton Community Service Award. She wholeheartedly believes that it takes a community to raise a pharmacist and with that, comes the responsibility to give back to that community!
Ben Mudd, Pharm.D.
Executive Director
Kentucky Pharmacists Association
Dr. Mudd is a 2012 graduate of the University of Kentucky College of Pharmacy. Prior to joining the Kentucky Pharmacists Association as Executive Director in 2021 he practiced in the community pharmacy setting, working in both chain and independent community pharmacies. Dr. Mudd’s entrepreneurial spirit led him to create multiple startup businesses. He has harnessed this spirit to bring a unique background and outlook to KPhA with an emphasis on growing the association by creating a membership experience that is inclusive to each pharmacist and technician in Kentucky.
Outside of the world of pharmacy he enjoys hiking, woodworking, and spending time on the farm. Along with his wife, Brittany, and daughters Emery and Aspen, he currently resides on his family’s homeplace of over 100 years in Lebanon, Ky.
Cathy Oliphant, Pharm.D.
Chair, Department of Pharmacy Practice
Professor
Idaho State University
Dr. Oliphant received her Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Michigan College of Pharmacy in Ann Arbor, Mich. She completed a pharmacy practice residency and infectious diseases/microbiology fellowship at Northwestern Memorial Hospital in Chicago, Ill. Dr. Oliphant is currently a Professor and Chair of the Department of Pharmacy Practice at Idaho State University in Meridian, Idaho. Previously, she was an associate professor at the University of Wyoming School of Pharmacy. She maintains a practice site at St. Luke’s Health System in Internal Medicine, Infectious Diseases and a COVID Recovery Clinic. In her free time, she enjoys traveling and hiking.
Sharon K. Park, Pharm.D., M.Ed., BCPS
Associate Professor
Assistant Dean for Academic Affairs and Continuous Quality Improvement
Notre Dame of Maryland University
Dr. Park is associate professor and assistant dean for academic affairs and continuous quality improvement at Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Pharmacy. She is also senior educational advisor and adjunct faculty for the Master of Education in the health professions program at Johns Hopkins University School of Education. She also serves as a pharmacy exemplar for her program’s interprofessional education and a co-director for the Health Systems Science Distinction Track at Johns Hopkins Hospital. Dr. Park was drug information specialist for medication use policy and clinical informatics at the Johns Hopkins Hospital over 11 years and taught a wide range of trainees in both didactic and experiential curricula. She has contributed significantly to the literature, including two prominent textbooks in pharmacy education, Pharmacotherapy Casebook: A Patient-Focused Approach and Drug Information: A Guide for Pharmacists. Her research interests include interprofessional practice, curricular assessment, and professional development.
Brent Reed, Pharm.D.
Doctoral Student
University of North Carolina at Charlotte
Dr. Reed is a doctoral student in organizational science at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, where his research pursuits include workplace stress, burnout, and work redesign. Dr. Reed obtained his Doctor of Pharmacy from the University of Tennessee College of Pharmacy and completed two years of pharmacy residency training at the University of North Carolina Medical Center. Prior to returning to school, Dr. Reed practiced for nearly ten years as a pharmacist specializing in the management of heart failure, most recently at the University of Maryland Medical Center. Dr. Reed maintains an affiliation with the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy where he was a faculty member for eight years. Dr. Reed began his transition into the organizational sciences with a master’s degree in industrial/organizational psychology at the University of Baltimore in 2020. He can be found on Twitter at @brentnreed.
Lucy A. Shell, Pharm.D.
Executive Director
Tennessee Board of Pharmacy
Dr. Shell is the executive director of the Tennessee Board of Pharmacy. Originally from Hopkinsville, Ky., Dr. Shell earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the Bill Gatton College of Pharmacy at East Tennessee State University and served as Tennessee Pharmacists Association’s (TPA) executive resident in association management and health policy. Prior to joining the Board of Pharmacy, she served as TPA’s Director of Pharmacy Practice Initiatives, including a term as interim executive director. Dr. Shell has led numerous grant, practice, and education initiatives, leading to publications and the development of training materials for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians, as well as has authoring chapters on pharmacy law. In addition, she worked in the community chain environment as a floater pharmacist. She is a current member of multiple state and national pharmacy organizations. Dr. Shell currently resides in Nashville, Tenn., with her husband, Eric Shell, a fellow pharmacist.
Penny Shelton, Pharm.D.
Executive Director
North Carolina Association of Pharmacists
Penny Shelton earned her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Campbell University in 1991 and completed a two-year, post-doctoral fellowship in geriatrics with the University of North Carolina. The first part of her career was devoted to her teaching and clinical practice, in which she was board certified in both geriatrics and psychiatry. She is a past president and fellow with the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. In 2006, Dr. Shelton moved into academic administration where she had the privilege of serving initially as associate professor and director of experiential education for Campbell University College of Pharmacy & Health Sciences, and eventually as professor & associate dean for academic affairs for the Dunn School of Pharmacy at Shenandoah University. Then in 2016, she decided to combine her interests in education, professional associations, leadership, policy, and advocacy to take on her current position as the executive director for the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. She also currently serves on the Board of Directors for the National Alliance of State Pharmacy Associations; and she is a fellow of the North Carolina Association of Pharmacists. She was recently recognized with the North Carolina Blanton Award for her passion, commitment, and success in serving to advance health care and the profession of pharmacy.
Megan G. Smith, Pharm.D., BCACP
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Dr. Smith is an assistant professor of pharmacy practice at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy. She is an advocate for elevating community pharmacy practice through teaching and research. She is the residency program director for UAMS PGY1 Community-Based Residency Program, and helped to launch the Arkansas Community Pharmacy Enhanced Services Network. She obtained her Doctorate of Pharmacy from University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC) Eshelman School of Pharmacy, completed a PGY1 community pharmacy residency at Kerr Drug, completed training in practice-based research and education through a community pharmacy research fellowship at UNC. She is an active member in APhA, chapter co-advisor for NCPA student chapter, Arkansas Pharmacist Association, and ACT (Academia-CPESN Transformation) Collaborative Champion for UAMS.
Miranda Steinkopf, Pharm.D., BCACP
Academic Leadership and Education Fellow
AACP
Dr. Steinkopf is the current Academic Leadership and Education Fellow at the American Association of College of Pharmacy (AACP). She has a passion for health equity, pharmacy practice transformation, and the intersection of these with pharmacy education and innovation. In her current role, she largely focuses on creation of the AACP Transformation Center and implementation of projects, programs, and services related to this. In addition, she serves on AACP standing committees, is involved in two federally funded grant projects, and assists with other products and programs in service of AACP’s members. Prior to joining AACP, she completed a PGY-1 pharmacy residency with Kaiser Permanente Northwest and a PGY-2 ambulatory care and academia residency with Pacific University School of Pharmacy after graduating from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy in 2019.
Anjali Talwar, B.S.
Fourth-Year Pharmacy Student
Palm Beach Atlantic University
Anjali is currently a fourth-year pharmacy student attending Palm Beach Atlantic’s Gregory School of Pharmacy. Anjali is originally from Broward County, Fla., where she graduated high school and went on to attend Florida State University to pursue a bachelor’s degree in the public health sciences. After graduating, she eventually felt a calling to follow in the footsteps of her father and pursue a degree in pharmacy. During her time in pharmacy school, she has held multiple leadership positions within the first few months of entering the program, her most prominent being her school's official student delegate, ASHP- SSHP President and Phi Sigma Lambda Vice-President. She currently holds the position of Student Director for the Florida Society of Health-Systems Pharmacists, overseeing all seven schools of pharmacy with Florida's SSHP chapters. Anjali has also gone on to be nominated and win multiple honors including most recently the nomination for the Palm Beach Executive Women’s Scholarship. She has also been a devoted member and leader of the St. Jude’s Philanthropy and part of her school’s Phi Delta Chi pharmaceutical fraternity, having raised over $11,000 in this past year alongside her incredible chapter. Her ultimate career goal is to make an impact in the communities and populations that she serves throughout her time as a clinical pharmacist. Outside of school you can find her creating new recipes in her kitchen, traveling, hosting gatherings with her family and friends and spending quality time with her Siberian Husky.
Shawn Tennant, Pharm.D., MBA, CFP
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice
Midwestern University
Dr. Tennant received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from USC and her MBA from the Anderson Graduate School of Business at UCLA. She joined Midwestern University College of Pharmacy in 2014, where she currently serves as Associate Dean of Academic Affairs and Assistant Professor of Pharmacy Practice. In her role, she is responsible for curriculum and assessment oversight and student progression. Dr. Tennant also has her CFP and teaches a Personal Financial Planning elective at the college.
Troy Trygstad, Pharm.D., MBA, Ph.D.
Executive Director
CPESN USA
Dr. Trygstad is the executive director of CPESN USA, a clinically integrated network of community-based pharmacy networks that endeavors to improve the quality and effectiveness of enhanced services provided by participating pharmacies and align them with the workflows and payment reform incentives of physicians, their support staff and other healthcare providers.
He also serves as the vice president of Pharmacy Provider Partnerships for Community Care of North Carolina, an organization providing wrap-around population health management support for nearly 2,000 primary care practices.
Dr. Trygstad possesses over twenty years of experience with multidisciplinary care teams and intervention development under alternative payment and support models. He was the project director for a Center for Medicare & Medicaid Innovation Award that tests new models of payment and pharmacy connectivity to primary care providers and the medical neighborhood that includes over 250 pharmacies in North Carolina.
Dr. Trygstad proudly practices in a community pharmacy setting on nights and weekends and recently served as a board member for the American Pharmacists Association Foundation and the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. He is also the editor-in-chief of Pharmacy Times.
Dalyn Valentin-Shawver
Third-Year Student Pharmacist
University of Florida
Dalyn is a third-year pharmacy student at the University of Florida, College of Pharmacy – Orlando campus. As a first-generation Hispanic pharmacy student, she loves to volunteer to help underserved communities and advocate for their healthcare needs. She also has the honor to serve as a student ambassador within her campus to promote recruitment and special events. Outside of school, she is an MTM pharmacy intern and holds a national leadership position within the Industry Pharmacist Organization (IPhO).
Scott J. Van Pelt, Ed.M., M.A.
Associate Director, Wharton Graduate Communication Program
University of Pennsylvania
Scott, along with Arthur Levine, is co-author of The Great Upheaval: Higher Education's Past, Present, and Uncertain Future. Drawing on the trends explored in the book, Scott has presented on the factors shaping the future of higher education to state education systems, faculty groups, and various institutions and organizations within higher education.
Over the past ten years, Scott has held a variety of roles in higher education in areas such as academic advising, admissions, instructional technology, and curriculum design. Currently, Scott is an associate director with the Communication Program at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania. In this role, Scott designs and implements the curricula for business communication courses within the MBA core curriculum. He also teaches several courses in the program. Scott is a skilled facilitator, with experience designing and delivering sessions to groups such as Wharton's Non-Profit Board Fellows Program, Ph.D. students in the Fulbright Scholars Program, and certificate students in the Strategic Leadership in Education program at the Penn Graduate School of Education.
Annesha White, Pharm.D., M.S., Ph.D.
Senior Associate Dean for Assessment, Accreditation and Faculty Success
Associate Professor
University of North Texas Health Science Center
Dr. White received her Pharm.D. from Florida A&M University College of Pharmacy in 2001 and an M.S. in Pharmacoeconomics in 2003. She received her Doctor of Philosophy degree in health services research in 2010 at the University of Florida. She has published many peer-reviewed articles, a textbook entitled Introduction to the Pharmacy Profession and has worked at the Government Accountability Office (the investigative arm of Congress), to examine Pharmacy Benefit Managers impact on Health Plans, Enrollees, and Pharmacies. She currently serves as Senior Associate Dean for Assessment, Accreditation and Faculty Success and Associate Professor at the University of North Texas Health Science Center College of Pharmacy.
She provides operational and strategic leadership in the design, implementation, and continuous quality improvement of programs for assessment of student learning and college strategic and programmatic performance. This includes positively affecting the behavior of faculty, motivating them to achieve professional success and satisfaction and high performance through collegiality and collaboration. Dr. White has a passion for improving faculty and staff well-being. She co-developed a pharmacy faculty “Scale To Recognize and Evaluate Stress and Satisfaction” (STRESS©) in an effort to identify indicators for targeted wellness initiatives. She also serves as Chair of the college Work Life Journey Committee leading the recent implementation of a Strategic Plan for Wellness.
Jonathan A. Wolfson, J.D.
Principal
The Great Debate
Jonathan Wolfson is an attorney, policy advisor, author, teacher, and speaker whose career includes multiple roles in both the private and public sectors. He has been a senior executive for the United States Department of Labor, a litigation attorney at an international law firm, an adjunct faculty member at the Honors College at the University of South Florida, a policy analyst at the White House, and a debate and public speaking coach and consultant. As the author of The Great Debate, a debate textbook used by students around the globe, he has provided debate, public speaking, and organizational decision-making training to businesses, nonprofit organizations, academics, and students alike. He studied Economics at Washington University in St. Louis and later earned his law degree at the University of Virginia School of Law. He presently is General Counsel and Senior Policy Advisor at the Cicero Institute, a nonpartisan think tank focused on creating entrepreneurial solutions to the most challenging public policy problems. Wolfson lives in Richmond, Va., with his wife and four children.