American Pharmacists Association > Advocacy > APhA DEIB Committee > Pharmacists Fighting Racism

APhA Task Force On Structural Racism In Pharmacy

Task Force Chair

CDR Andrew Gentles, PharmD, BCPS-AQ ID

APhA Trustee Senior Regulatory Program Coordinator Food and Drug Administration Washington, DC

Task Force Vice Chair

Melissa J. Durham, PharmD, MACM, APh, BCACP

Associate Professor, Clinical Pharmacy

Assistant Dean, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion University of Southern California Los Angeles, CA

Dr. Durham is an Associate Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and the Assistant Dean of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion at the University of Southern California (USC) School of Pharmacy. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree, completed a residency in Community Pharmacy Practice, and has earned her Master of Academic Medicine degree, all from USC. She has taught cultural competence at USC since 2012, is a member of the President and Provost’s Task Force for Racial Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion at USC, and is the Vice Chair of the APhA Task Force on Addressing Structural Racism in Pharmacy.

CDR Andrew Gentles

CDR Gentles is a member of the United States Public Health Service (USPHS and currently stationed at the United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) where he serves as a Senior Regulatory Program Manager. As a Board Certified Pharmacotherapy Specialist (BCPS) with Added Qualifications in Infectious Diseases and pharmacist with over 10 years of diverse clinical experience and collaborative leadership, he was commissioned in 2012 in Indian Health Service (IHS) where he served as the Deputy Chief Pharmacist for a 60-bed hospital. CDR Gentles commitment to advocacy and improving the health of underserved communities has continued outside of the corps. In 2017, he became the first PHS officer to serve as President of the State Pharmacy Association for the District of Columbia and spearheaded an initiative resulting in the passage of regulations for Collaborative Practice Agreements between Physicians and Pharmacists. He has represented the District of Columbia’s pharmacy community as an APhA House of Delegate member and in 2020 was elected to serve as a member of the 2021 APhA Board of Trustees. CDR Gentles is the Chair of the APhA Task Force on Addressing Structural Racism in Pharmacy.

Melissa J. Durham

Task Force Members

Vibhuti Arya Amirfar, PharmD, MPH

Professor Trustee-elect, St. John's University

Clinical Advisor, Policy, Resilience & Response NYC Department of Health and Mental Hygiene New York, NY

Dr. Arya has worked for the past 15 years to bridge the gap between healthcare, well-being, and equity. She serves as a Clinical Professor at St. John's University College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences and Clinical Advisor to the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. In her role, Dr. Arya works to integrate pharmacists into public health initiatives, particularly among high-risk, medically underserved areas in NYC, and advises on legislation pertinent to pharmacy practice and access to care. She is part of the Divisional team within the Health Department and helped develop an equity tool for strategic planning. Vibhuti is also a Global Lead for Gender Equity and Diversity Workforce Development for the International Pharmacy Federation. She completed the Pharmaceutical Care Leadership Residency at the University of Minnesota, and her MPH from the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of

Leonard Edloe, ThM, PharmD

Retired CEO, Pharmacist

Edloe’s Professional Pharmacies Pastor, New Hope Fellowship Mechanicsville, VA

Dr. Edloe is the Retired CEO of Edloe’s Professional Pharmacies, Pastor of New Hope Fellowship, and Adjunct Professor of Christian Ethics at the John Leland Theological Center. He is a graduate of the Howard University College of Pharmacy where he serves as Vice-Chair of the Board of Visitors and the University of Florida School of Pharmacy. He is a former trustee of APhA and Past President of the APhA Foundation. He was the first African American student to serve as a national officer of SAPhA and he served on the Task Force on Women in Pharmacy. He has served on the Clinical Faculties of four colleges of pharmacy and has earned degrees in theology for Virginia Union University and Union Presbyterian Seminary.

Kennedy M. Erickson, PharmD Candidate

APhA-ASP National President-elect Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences

Ms. Erickson is a third-year student pharmacist at the Washington State University College of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences and serves as the APhA – Academy of Student Pharmacists 2021-2022 National President-elect.

Meryam Gharbi, PharmD

Pharmacist

Walgreens Pharmacy Salisbury, MD

Dr. Gharbi is a community pharmacist at Walgreens. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy in Baltimore, MD. She has served as a leader nationally as the 2017-2018 National Member-at-large of the American Pharmacists Association - Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA-ASP). Gharbi remains an active leader in APhA and Walgreens and serves as a coach for retail pharmacy teams.

Vibhuti Arya Amirfar

Leonard Edloe

Kennedy M. Erickson

Meryam Gharbi

Anne Lin, PharmD, FNAP

Dean and Professor

Notre Dame of Maryland University School of Pharmacy Baltimore, MD

Dr. Lin is the Founding Dean & Professor of the School of Pharmacy at Notre Dame of Maryland University. She received her. B.S. in Pharmacy and Doctor of Pharmacy degrees from St. John’s University and completed a clinical pharmacy residency at Medical College of Virginia Hospital. During her career, she has worked to include cultural competence, health care disparities and diversity issues into pharmacy curricula. Additionally, she has served on government and community committees to address issues of diversity and inclusion. Dr. Lin is the 2020-2021 President of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy.

Michael A. Moné, BPharm, JD, FAPhA

President

Michael A. Moné and Associates, LLC Powell, OH

Mr. Mone is Principal at Michael A Mone and Associates where he provides advice on an array of pharmacy statutory, regulatory, and risk management issue. He previously was Vice President and Associate General Counsel – Regulatory with Cardinal Health. Mr. Mone is a pharmacist and an attorney and has worked with the Florida Board of Pharmacy, the USP, the Florida Attorney General and the Kentucky Board of Pharmacy. He has served on the Board of Directors of the American Pharmacists Association, the Florida Pharmacy Association, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and is currently serving on the Board of Directors of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education. Mr. Mone’s most valued volunteer contributions are his service as Parliamentarian to the APhA-ASP House of Delegates and to the APhA Institute on Substance Use Disorders where he has been able to engage with a diverse population of students and practitioners. Mr. Mone received his pharmacy and law education at the University of Florida. He was most recently awarded the Joseph L. Fink III Founders Award by the American Society for Pharmacy Law for sustained and outstanding service and contributions to the professions of pharmacy and law.

Parth Shah, PharmD, PhD

Assistant Professor

Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research (HICOR) Fred Hutch Seattle, WA

Dr. Shah is an Assistant Professor at the Hutchinson Institute for Cancer Outcomes Research and the Public Health Sciences Division at the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. He received his PharmD from the University of Southern California and PhD in Health Behavior at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health. He completed a Postdoctoral Fellowship in Health Services Research at the UNC Cecil G. Sheps Center for Health Services Research. He is a behavioral and implementation scientist who studies how to improve clinical practice and health policy in cancer prevention and control.

Adrienne Simmons, PharmD, MS, BCPS, AAHIVP

Director of Programs

(a program of the Hepatitis Education Project) Washington, DC

Dr. Simmons is Director of Programs at the National Viral Hepatitis Roundtable. She received her Doctor of Pharmacy from Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) School of Pharmacy, completed a Health-System Pharmacy Administration and Leadership residency at the University of North Carolina (UNC) Medical Center, and earned her Master’s degree in Pharmacy Administration from UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy. She has experience in federal and state legislative advocacy and has served on national policy committees for the American Pharmacists Association and the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists.

Anne Lin

Michael A. Mone

Parth Shah

Adrienne Simmons

Ex Officio Members

APhA Board of Trustees

Theresa Tolle, BPharm, FAPhA

APhA President

Valerie Prince, PharmD, FAPhA, BCPS

APhA President-elect

Rafael Saenz, PharmD, MS, FASHP

Chief of Staff

Theresa Tolle

Mrs. Tolle 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.

Valerie Prince

Valerie Prince, PharmD, FAPhA, BCPS, is clinical pharmacy specialist on the interdisciplinary acute care team of St. Vincent’s Family Medicine Residency Program at Christ Health Center where she also serves as adjunct faculty. She is a professor of pharmacy practice at Samford University. Prince graduated from Mercer University and completed a residency at Regional Medical Center at Memphis. She has enjoyed practicing in acute care, ambulatory, independent, chain, and long-term care pharmacies. Prince has served APhA as APhA–Academy of Pharmacy Practice and Management President, Speaker of the House of Delegates, and APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA–ASP) national officer. She is currently the APhA President-Elect Designate. She received the Alabama Pharmacy Association (APA) Wayne Staggs Distinguished Service Award for her extensive state level involvement that included service as APA Research and Education Foundation (APAREF) President. Recently she was awarded the APA Faculty Member of the Year. She is a past national president of Phi Lambda Sigma leadership society and was recognized as National Chapter Advisor of the Year. She is a recipient of the Linwood F. Tice Friend of APhA–ASP Award and the APhA–APPM Distinguished Achievement in Clinical Practice Award. She has a long record of community service and mentoring including years as a Girl Scout Leader. She currently serves on the Governor’s Task Force on Opioids. Prince lives in Odenville Alabama with her husband Chip, family cats and dogs, and foster dogs. They have two beautiful daughters, Carlee and MattiLynn and they attend Church of the Highlands.

Rafael Saenz, PharmD, MS, FASHP

Rafael Saenz received his Pharm.D. from the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy, and his Master of Science in Pharmacy Administration from the University of Wisconsin, while concurrently completing the Pharmacy Administration Residency Program at the University of Wisconsin Hospital.

Between 2011 and 2019, Rafael served as the Chief Pharmacy Officer at the University of Virginia (UVA) where he oversaw the pharmacy enterprise for the health system. In this role, Rafael led an expert team that successfully deployed clinical pharmacist services throughout the system, implemented LEAN medication distribution workflows, oversaw a $250M drug expense budget, increased the department’s revenue to attribute to over 45% of all medical center net revenues, and created several new business lines for UVA including a full service specialty pharmacy. Further, Rafael led the expansion of pharmacy residency programs at UVA, tripling the availability of positions during his tenure.

Prior to UVA, Rafael served as Pharmacy Operations Manager for UPMC in Pittsburgh. In this role, he had oversight for clinical unit-based pharmacy services and retail operations, before switching his focus to the pharmacy practice sites within UPMC’s international ventures in Palermo, Italy and Dublin, Ireland. Rafael has deployed clinical services, information technology systems, created supply chains, met regulatory and accreditation requirements, implemented best practices in medication use safety, and launched new pharmacy business initiatives domestically and internationally.

Rafael has served the profession through active membership in state and national pharmacy organizations. He has served on workforce and education committees with various organizations aimed at increasing the pharmacist and technician scope of practice. In 2015, Rafael was appointed to the Virginia Board of Pharmacy and served as Chair of the Board from 2018-2019.

Primary Staff Liaison

Brian Lawson, PharmD

Associate Executive Director

Board of Pharmacy Specialties Washington, DC

Dr. Lawson is the Associate Executive Director for the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) where he monitors the professional pharmacy landscape and seeks collaborative relationships in the U.S. and around the globe that promote the value of board certification. Prior to BPS, he was the Associate Director, Governance for APhA with responsibilities related to the activities of the Board of Trustees, the House of Delegates, policy development, profession-wide awards, and Board elections. In 2008, Dr. Lawson was named the first Knowlton Center Executive Resident in Association Management and Leadership at the APhA Foundation and earned his Doctor of Pharmacy degree from West Virginia University. He is a former president of the WVU School of Pharmacy Alumni Association and serves on the School’s Leadership Council as well as the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee.