Board of Trustees

APhA Board of Trustees

APhA Officers & Trustees

Sandra Leal

APhA President, 2021-2022

Sandra Leal, PharmD, MPH, FAPhA, CDCES is an Executive Vice President for Tabula Rasa HealthCare. She is serving as the 166th President of the American Pharmacists Association. Dr. Leal has had diverse experience as a pharmacist, medical director, public health clinician, and as a board member for various groups including the National Center for Farmworker Health.

Two themes that govern Dr. Leal’s professional life are a passion to eliminate barriers to care and to improve access and outcomes for patients. Dr. Leal has led efforts on both local and national levels to integrate pharmacy, public health, and advocacy to improve the healthcare system and to reduce health inequity.

Theresa P. Tolle

APhA President-elect, 2021-2022

Theresa Tolle, BPharm, FAPhA, is owner of Bay Street Pharmacy in Sebastian, Florida for the past 17 years. Prior to owning an independent pharmacy, she had practice experience in chain, long term care (consultant) pharmacy and hospital. Her pharmacy focuses on patient services such as counseling, MTM, compounding, immunizations and pharmacogenomics testing. Her professional activities have spanned local, state and national pharmacy associations including serving as President of Florida Pharmacy Association in 2003, Treasurer of the Florida Pharmacy Political Committee since 2009, APhA-APPM Community & Ambulatory Chair 1995-96, PAC Region 2 Board of Governors 2009-12 and Speaker- Elect/Speaker of the House 2014-17. As Speaker, she currently serves as a Trustee for APhA. Other APhA service includes appointments to various House of Delegates committees including Policy Committee Chair in 2010-11, AMCP Model Audit Guidelines Task Group, 2010-11 and CPPA Oversight Committee 2012-13. Additional professional involvement includes membership and committee work with NCPA, Cardinal Health National Advisory Board, Health First Health Plans P&T Committee and Creative Pharmacist Advisory Board. Activities outside the profession include Sebastian Chamber of Commerce Immediate Past Board Chair & LGA Chair, American Cancer Society Treasure Coast Council, and Sebastian River Medical Center Trustee. Tolle graduated from University of Florida in 1988. She has won several professional awards including the Palm Beach Atlantic University Community Pharmacy Preceptor of the Year in 2015, Bowl of Hygeia in 2012, APhA Fellow in 2011, APhA Good Government Pharmacist of the Year in 2004 and Cardinal Health’s Ken Wurster Community Leadership Award in 2011.

Michael D. Hogue

APhA Immediate Past President, 2021-2022

Michael D Hogue, Pharm.D., FAPhA, FNAP is dean and professor of the Loma Linda University School of Pharmacy in Loma Linda, California. Prior to serving at Loma Linda, Dr. Hogue held a variety of administrative appointments at Samford University, Birmingham, Alabama, and was a full-tenured professor. A highly regarded expert in immunization practice, he was on APhA’s original staff development team and original faculty for APhA’s Pharmacy-Based Immunization Delivery certificate training program and advocacy initiative. He’s published dozens of articles on the subject and speaks nationally and internationally on vaccine-related topics. Dr. Hogue has served in leadership with the American Pharmacists Association for over 25 years, first serving as national student president (APhA-ASP), then later as president of APhA’s Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management. In 2019 he will conclude a 2 year term as Speaker of APhA’s House of Delegates, and trustee, and then assumes the role of President-elect of APhA. In addition to his service to APhA, he served in many roles with the Alabama Pharmacy Association. In 2018, Dr. Hogue was inducted into the Alabama Healthcare Hall of Fame for his life’s work in Immunizations. A fellow of APhA and the National Academies of Practice, Dr. Hogue has also served on the initial professional consensus conference defining Medication Therapy Management and published two books on the subject. He is a former board member of the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases and is an active member of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy. Dr. Hogue believes strongly in community involvement and can often be found serving within his church and community. He is married to Dr. Heather Hogue, also a pharmacist, and is the proud father of two daughters (Olivia and Anne Elise).

Greg Fox

Treasurer, 2019-2022 (first term)

Gregory A. Fox, BSPharm is the Health & Wellness Merchandiser (Director) for The Kroger Co.’s Central Marketing Area, encompassing Indiana, Illinois, and parts of Missouri, Michigan, and Ohio. Fox’s experience includes community, managed care, long term care, and consultant pharmacy. He served on numerous health insurance plan boards as a board member or P&T committee member. He received his pharmacy degree from the University of Cincinnati and is a graduate of the University of Mississippi APhA Community Pharmacy Business Management Program. He was the President of the Ohio Pharmacists Association when legislation passed allowing pharmacists to immunize and provide collaborative services. He initiated and testified for similar laws in Indiana. Fox is member of the APhA APPM section and is a House Delegate and a contributing author. He serves on the Indiana State Board of Pharmacy Technology Committee, the Indiana Pharmacists Alliance, the Ohio Pharmacists Association, the Indiana and Illinois Retail Pharmacy Committees, and the Medication Safety Partnership of Indiana. Fox is responsible for the development of the Kroger/Purdue Community Pharmacy Residency Partnership. He is an Adjunct Professor of Pharmacy Practice for several Colleges of Pharmacy and sits on three Pharmacy Dean’s Councils. Fox was awarded the BCPA Pharmacist of the Year, Ohio’s Young Pharmacist of the Year and a Kroger Chairman’s Award. Purdue University recognized Fox with the 2010 “Friend of Pharmacy Award” for dedication to the profession and the College.

Sandra Leal

Theresa P. Tolle

Michael D. Hogue

Greg Fox

Scott Knoer

APhA Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer

Scott Knoer, MS, PharmD, FASHP, is the 13th Executive Vice President and Chief Executive Officer of the American Pharmacists Association. He received his BA in psychology from Creighton University in 1988 and his PharmD from the University of Nebraska in 1996. He completed a 2-year administrative residency with a concurrent MS degree in hospital pharmacy from the University of Kansas in 1998. Before his current leadership role at APhA, Dr. Knoer was the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the Cleveland Clinic from 2011 to 2020, where he led an international pharmacy enterprise with a $1.4 billion dollar drug budget and 1,558 FTEs in 18 hospitals with facilities in Ohio, Florida, and Nevada; Toronto; London; and Abu Dhabi. After graduation from pharmacy school, he was an Operations Manager at the University of Texas Medical Branch at Galveston for 3 years. Moving to Minnesota, he was the Director of Pharmacy at the University of Minnesota Medical Center, Fairview, for a decade before being recruited to the Cleveland Clinic in 2011. Dr. Knoer has served the profession extensively through involvement in professional organizations at the local, state, and national levels. He is published widely on a variety of pharmacy and leadership topics. He is a frequent invited lecturer to state, national, and international audiences. He is often quoted as a health care expert on a broad array of topics in newspaper, radio, and television outlets. Dr. Knoer is a passionate advocate for patients and the profession of pharmacy. He has successfully lobbied boards of pharmacy in Ohio and Minnesota to allow the advancement of pharmacy practice, and he has led initiatives that changed Ohio and federal law related to the elevation of pharmacy practice and reducing the impact of drug shortages.

Gregory J. Higby

APhA Honorary President, 2021-2022

Gregory J. Higby, BSPharm, MS, PhD, RPh, earned a BS in Pharmacy from the University of Michigan in 1977. After 9 months in practice as a pharmacist in Bad Axe, MI, he returned to graduate school at the University of Wisconsin–Madison, receiving an MS in Pharmacy (1980) and a PhD in Pharmacy (1984). He did his graduate work in the history of pharmacy under the guidance of Remington Honor Medalist Glenn Sonnedecker. After a postdoctoral position, Dr. Higby became the Associate Director of the American Institute of the History of Pharmacy (AIHP) in 1986 and Executive Director in 1988. In this capacity, he served as Editor of Pharmacy in History, the quarterly journal of the Institute, supervising the production of 110 issues. Dr. Higby retired as Executive Director of the AIHP at the end of 2018 and assumed his new position as Fischelis Scholar. In this part-time role, he curates the Institute’s collection of reference materials, books, and artifacts. As a Senior Lecturer, he continues to teach pharmaceutical history at the University of Wisconsin– Madison School of Pharmacy, as he has since 1984. An APhA member since 1980, Dr. Higby gave his first convention presentation in 1981. Since then, he has organized, chaired, or spoken at more than 75 sessions at APhA Annual Meetings. As a pharmacy historian, Dr. Higby has authored or edited 10 books as well as 70 articles, reviews, and book chapters. His honors include the Edward Kremers Award, the George Urdang Medal, the Hermann Schelenz Plakette, and the A. A. Parmentier Medal

Scott Knoer

Gregory J. Higby

Officer(s) of the House

Melissa Skelton Duke

Current Speaker of the House of Delegates

APhA Speaker and Trustee, 2021-2023

Dr. Duke earned a Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of New Mexico, and a Master of Science degree in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Utah. As a former Speaker of the APhA-ASP House of Delegates, Dr. Duke has remained committed to serving the profession of pharmacy throughout her career and has been honored to serve on three APhA Policy Committees, two APhA Policy Review Committees, one APhA New Business Review Committee, and as a volunteer leader for the APhA Institute on Substance Use Disorders. Believing in the critical role that state-level pharmacy leadership plays in practice advancement and innovation, she is also an active member of her state association and has served in a variety of state-level leadership roles, including President of the Utah Society of Health-System Pharmacists. Dr. Duke has practice and leadership experience in health-system, specialty, ambulatory, and population health pharmacy services. In her current role as the Executive Director of Population Health Pharmacy Solutions at Banner Health, she is responsible for designing and delivering innovative pharmacy programs in primary care, oncology, transplant, and other specialty areas. She has experience building pharmacist-provided services through fee-for-service and contracted service payment models. Dr. Duke collaborates with payers, employers, and health plans to align benefits, build member engagement strategies, and deploy technology solutions that improve patient experience and health outcomes. Her passion is improving access to pharmacist-provided care, creating demand for pharmacy services, and generating opportunities for pharmacists as essential healthcare providers.

Melissa Skelton Duke

Academy Presidents

Wendy Mobley-Bukstein

APhA-APPM President and Trustee, 2021-2023

Dr. Wendy Mobley-Bukstein PharmD is an Associate Professor of Pharmacy Practice in the College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences at Drake University. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Drake University in 1999 and is a Certified Diabetes Care and Education Specialist, Board Certified Ambulatory Care Pharmacist and Certified Health and Wellness Coach. She teaches a Medication Management elective, co-teaches the Advanced Diabetes Care elective and coordinates the Intermediate Pharmacy Skills and Applications 2 lecture and lab. She teaches in the Pharmacy Skills and Applications course series and the Self Care & Nonprescription Products course; both team taught courses. She maintains a clinical practice at Primary Health Care East Side Clinic where she precepts third and fourth year student pharmacists; focusing on interprofessional ambulatory care and diabetes as a specialty practice. Her areas of interest in practice and scholarship are diabetes, medication management services and community education. She is the Co-President and Advocacy Lead for the Iowa Chapter of the American Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialist Coordinating Body, President of the Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management, an academy of the American Pharmacists Association, an active member of the Association of Diabetes Care and Education Specialists, where she sits on the Professional Practice Committee and Advocacy Committee and Iowa Pharmacy Association, where she is a member of the Education Advisory Committee and the Policy Committee on Public Affairs.

David Nau

APhA-APRS President and Trustee, 2020-2022

Dr. David Nau is a Professor of Social & Administrative Sciences at the Raabe College of Pharmacy at Ohio Northern University. He held tenured faculty and administrative appointments at several Colleges of Pharmacy prior to joining ONU. Dr. Nau was the founding President of Pharmacy Quality Solutions (provider of EQuIPP) and also served as a senior staff member of PQA where he was responsible for development of quality measures related to medications. He received his pharmacy degree from ONU, a MS degree from the University of Toledo and a PhD from the University of Florida. He is the President of APhA’s Academy of Pharmaceutical Research & Science and is also a recipient of the APhA Foundation’s Pinnacle Award.

Juan Rodriguez

APhA-ASP President, 2021-2022

Juan Rodriguez is a rising final year student pharmacist at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center College of Pharmacy. Born in Guanajuato, Mexico and raised in central Mississippi, Juan had the unique opportunity to blend his Mexican cultural heritage and adoptive southern background. Through an abundance of personal mentors both in and outside of pharmacy school, Juan has learned the importance of lending a hand to the next in line. This has translated into passionately serving and striving to create the best APhA-ASP experience possible for student pharmacists. He has been actively engaged with the American Pharmacists Association Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP) since his first year of pharmacy school by serving his local chapter as a first-year Member-at-Large and President-elect. His excitement for APhA-ASP further grew after attending his first Annual Meeting and Exposition in Seattle Washington and Summer Leadership Institute in Washington, D.C. In spite of the difficulties of the COVID-19 pandemic, Juan was elected to serve on the National Executive Committee where he currently serves as APhA-ASP National President, Trustee on the APhA Board of Trustees, and member of the APhA Task Force on Addressing Structural Racism in Pharmacy. He is passionate in bringing his presidential theme of “Unity in Diversity” to the Academy of Student Pharmacists for the 2021-2022 year. He has had the opportunity to collaborate with his college’s faculty on research focused on the student learning experience for which he presented during AACP’s 2020 virtual meeting. Outside of pharmacy school, Juan works as a student pharmacist intern for Methodist University Hospital in Memphis, TN.

Wendy Mobley-Bukstein

David Nau

Juan Rodriguez

Trustee-at-Large

LCDR Andrew Gentles

APhA Trustee-at-Large, 2021-2024 (first term)

LCDR Andrew Gentles, PharmD, BCPS AQ-ID, is a United States Public Health Service Officer at the FDA where he is a Senior Regulatory Program Coordinator within the Division of Antiviral Products and Medical Countermeasures Ebola Therapeutics Regulatory Team Lead. In this role he oversees the FDA's portfolio of investigational drugs to treat emerging infectious disease outbreaks such as the 2018 Ebola Virus disease outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo. LCDR Gentles is an ASHP Residency trained, BCPS credentialed pharmacist with added qualifications in infectious disease. With over 10 years of public health and clinical pharmacy experience including the Indian Health Service, he is a proud District of Columbia (DC) resident where he continues to practice in an underserved community clinic as a credentialed healthcare provider. He is also a passionate pharmacist leader with a forward thinking mindset. Having served as the 1st USPHS Officer to become President of the DC State Pharmacy Association, he successfully spearheaded an advocacy initiative that resulted in the passage of regulations for Collaborative Practice Agreements between Physicians and Pharmacists. As a result, this historic legislative victory now advances the District’s pharmacy profession for 2,000 licensed pharmacists and stands to increase access and quality of care for 600,000 residents in DC. The recipient of the prestigious 2019 National 40 under 40 Health Leaders Award and RADM George Lythcott Award for public health impact, LCDR Gentles’ wealth of experience and dedication has provided him with a progressive and collaborative mindset to address the challenges and opportunities facing our pharmacy profession today.

Sean Jeffery

APhA Trustee-at-Large, 2019-2022 (first term)

Sean Jeffery, PharmD, BCGP, FASCP, AGSF, is a Director of Pharmacy Services at Integrated Care Partners, a physician-led, clinically integrated network responsible for Hartford Healthcare’s value-based practice transformation. His career has focused on caring for seniors by implementing innovative patient care services that promote the value of pharmacists in care coordination. Currently, he oversees pharmacy network development and strategy, population health management, and provides clinical support to the care-management team. He is also a Clinical Professor at the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy. Previously, Dr. Jeffery was a consultant pharmacist at the VA Connecticut Healthcare System where he served as a PGY2 Geriatrics Residency Program Director. Sean has been active in several organizations. He served on the APhA Policy Committee (’16), chaired the American Geriatrics Society Polypharmacy Special Interest Group (SIG), and chaired the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy Geriatrics SIG. Sean was also President (’12) and Chairman of the Board of Directors for the American Society of Consultant Pharmacists. He has co-founded several community coalitions to raise awareness among seniors about medication safety. He was recognized as a Fellow of the American Geriatrics Society (2016), and an Ohio State University Distinguished Alumni (2013). Dr. Jeffery earned his bachelor of science from the University of Connecticut and PharmD from the Ohio State University and is a Board Certified Geriatric Pharmacist.

Randy McDonough

APhA Trustee, 2020-2023 (second term)

Randy McDonough is co-owner of Towncrest, Solon Towncrest, and Towncrest Compounding Pharmacies. He is also co-owner of Innovative Pharmacy Solutions and Thrive Pharmacy Transformations. He oversees Towncrest’s clinical services including MTM services, nursing home consulting, wellness screenings, immunizations, and adherence services. He is responsible for development, implementation, and quality assurance for all aspects of the clinic and services. He is board certified in geriatrics and pharmacotherapy. His areas of interest include community-based outcomes research, geriatrics, chronic disease, management, and the development of patient care initiatives in community pharmacy. Dr. McDonough has published and presented extensively on pharmaceutical care and MTM in the community pharmacy setting. In particular, he is recognized for his efforts in developing and implementing patient care services. He coauthored a book on pharmaceutical care and has written chapters for several other texts. He presents nationally and internationally on pharmaceutical care, MTM services and value-based reimbursement in the community pharmacy setting. More recently, two papers have been published that highlight his work in implementing a new workflow process that emphasizes the role of community pharmacists of ensuring that patients are achieving their therapeutic outcomes with safe and effective medications. This led to a pilot program with the largest payer in Iowa and resulted in Towncrest Pharmacy saving the payer $300.00 per member per month in total health care costs. Randy is a member of APhA, National Community Pharmacists Association, American Society of Consultant Pharmacists, American College of Clinical Pharmacy, and the Iowa Pharmacy Association.

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner

APhA Trustee, 2021-2024 (second term)

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, is a Professor, Associate Dean for Clinical Services and Practice Transformation and Executive Director of the Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. Currently, she is a Fellow in Population Health at the University of Maryland Health System. Her role as a pharmacy faculty has led to the development of many nationally recognized innovative programs, including the Giant Diabetes Education Program and the Maryland P3 Program- a pharmacist-directed MTM and chronic disease management program prior site of Ten City Challenge- in partnership with the Maryland Pharmacists Association, government and business organizations. Past director of the Community Pharmacy Residency Program and current preceptor. She regularly speaks at national and international forums on development and implementation of pharmacist-directed services. Her work includes collaborations with the CDC and other government agencies. She is past President of the Maryland Pharmacists Association and APhA Foundation Board, APhA Fellow and served on APhA committees and taskforces, including the Forum of the Americas. Recipient of the 2015 APhA Foundation Pinnacle Award for Individual Career Achievement, 2014 Maryland Innovator of the Year, 2013 University of Maryland Entrepreneur of the Year, the 2013 American Pharmacists Association Daniel B. Smith award, the 2010 Group Pinnacle Award; 2007 APhA Community Pharmacy Residency Excellence in Precepting Award and Bowl of Hygeia 2005. She has dedicated her career to advance pharmacy practice and the development of innovative and sustainable patient care programs to maximize the impact of pharmacists in patient care.

LCDR Andrew Gentles

Sean Jeffery

Randy McDonough

Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner

Alex C. Varkey

APhA Trustee-at-Large, 2020-2023 (first term)

Alex C. Varkey, PharmD, MS, FAPhA is the Director of Pharmacy at Houston Methodist Hospital, a 924-bednonprofit academic teaching hospital in Houston, TX. Alex received his Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) from the University of Houston in 2005. He then completed a two-year administrative residency at Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, OH while completing his Master of Science in Health-System Pharmacy Administration at The Ohio State University in 2007. Alex has prioritized professional involvement since he was a student, serving as national president of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Academy of Student Pharmacists and voting member of the APhA Board of Trustees in 2004-05. Upon graduating, Varkey remained active with APhA, serving in elected positions in both APhA-APRS and APhA-APPM. Alex was recently appointed to serve on APhA’s Board of Trustees in January 2018, with the term ending March 2019. Alex has served in other organizations such as the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists (ASHP), and the Texas Society of Health-System Pharmacists (TSHP) through various appointed positions. Varkey is an accomplished writer and public speaker, having authored and co-authored several articles in national publications and has served as a keynote speaker at local and national meetings. Varkey is passionate about educating pharmacy learners, having developed a two-year health-system pharmacy administration residency, and a longitudinal pharmacy internship program throughout his tenure at Houston Methodist Hospital. For his efforts, he has won several awards, including the Gulf Coast Society of Health-System Pharmacists Outstanding Pharmacist Award in 2014.

Wendy Weber

APhA Trustee-at-Large, 2019-2022 (first term)

Wendy Weber, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, FAPhA, is a pharmacy consultant with almost 20 years of experience in acute care, management, and community practice. Her practice areas over the years include internal medicine, emergency medicine, trauma intensive care, pediatrics and neonatology. Other areas of interest include clinical research, precepting pharmacy practice residents and student pharmacists, and leadership development. While she has spent the majority of her career in the inpatient clinical environment, Wendy has also practiced in community pharmacy and worked as a government contractor developing educational materials for providers. Her practice experience has given her a front row seat to the opportunities and challenges facing pharmacy in both acute care and community practice. Wendy has served in numerous leadership roles within the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) and the APhA Foundation, including APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management (APhA-APPM) President, APhA Trustee, and APhA Foundation Director. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy from North Dakota State University and a Masters in Business Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha. Wendy is a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist and a Fellow of the APhA.