The American Pharmacists Association (APhA) today announced the election of Nicki L. Hilliard, PharmD, MHSA, BCNP, FAPhA, of Little Rock, AR, as 2017–2018 APhA President-elect. Hilliard will succeed Nancy A. Alvarez, of Lake Forest, CA, to the office of APhA President on March 19, 2018, at the end of the 2018 APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition in Nashville, TN. 

Also elected to serve a three-year terms on APhA’s Board of Trustees are Sandra Leal, PharmD, MPH, FAPhA, CDE, of Tucson, AZ, and Randy McDonough, BS, PharmD, MS, CGP, BCPS, FAPhA, of Iowa City, IA. Both terms will begin in March 2017.

In addition, Philip P. Burgess, RPh, DPh, MBA, of Chicago, IL, was elected as 2017–2018 Honorary President. All officers will be installed at the 164th APhA Annual Meeting & Exposition in San Francisco, March 24–27, 2017.

Elected Official Biographies

Nicki L. Hilliard is a Professor of Pharmacy Practice at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) College of Pharmacy. Hilliard has pharmacy practice experience in community (independent and chain) pharmacy and free medical clinics, but has focused most of her career to be an innovative educator of nuclear pharmacy practice and management. She has expertise in inter-professional education, online learning and educational technology. Hilliard is a former APhA-APPM President and APhA Trustee, serving on the APhA Governmental Affairs, Strategic Directions  and Policy Standing Committees. She served on the Board of Pharmacy Specialties and is the current Chair of the Pharmacy Provider Status Task Force and the Government Affairs Committee for the Arkansas Pharmacists Association. She received her BSPharm and PharmD from UAMS College of Pharmacy and a Masters in Health Services Administration from the University of Arkansas at Little Rock. She has been recognized with the APhA William H. Briner Distinguished Achievement in Nuclear Pharmacy Practice, APhA Award of Merit and the Bowl of Hygeia.

Sandra Leal is the Vice President for Innovation at SinfoniaRx, a provider of medication therapy management services nationally. Dr. Leal is working to establish integrated clinical pharmacy services in a variety of programs including a hospital discharge program, integrated behavioral health clinics, accountable care organizations and patient-centered medical homes. She is using tele-health and other strategies to scale resources to communities, clinicians, and patients. Dr. Leal received her PharmD from the University of Colorado and her MPH in Public Health Practice from the University of Massachusetts. Dr. Leal completed her residency at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System and a Primary Health Care Policy Fellowship with the Department of Health and Human Services. Her work has been published in Diabetes Care, Advances in Chronic Kidney Disease, American Journal for Health-System Pharmacy and a discussion paper published by the Institute of Medicine entitled, “Patients and Health Care Teams Forging Effective Partnerships”. Dr. Leal currently serves as vice chair for the National Center for Farmworker Health and as current member and past chair of the Arizona Department of Health Diabetes Leadership Council. Her programs are a two-time recipient of the APhA Foundation Pinnacle Award, ASHP Best Practice Award in Health-System Pharmacy and the NACHC Innovative Research in Primary Care Award.

Randy McDonough is Co-owner of Towncrest and Towncrest Compounding Pharmacies in Iowa City and Solon Towncrest Pharmacy in Solon, IA. Recently, he and his business partner started Innovative Pharmacy Solutions, a consulting and clinical documentation software company. Dr. McDonough is responsible for developing, implementing, and overseeing clinical services, managing staff, and marketing the business. He has helped to foster collaborative working relationships with several solo and group physician practices in areas such as immunizations, anticoagulation, disease state management, and medication therapy management services. He also helped to develop and implement health screening and case management programs for private pay patients and self-insured employers. He was instrumental in implementing Medication Therapy Management (MTM) services for the Iowa Medicaid Pharmaceutical Case Management Program. He provides MTM services for Iowa Medicaid, Medicare Part D and private pay patients. Dr. McDonough has been committed to the education of community pharmacy residents through the training and/or supervision of over twenty post-graduates. Towncrest Pharmacy is a current community pharmacy residency site. Dr. McDonough received his BS, MS, and Pharm.D. degrees from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, where he is adjunct professor (clinical). He is frequently asked to speak on topics related to practice development and implementation. He has published articles and book chapters about pharmaceutical care and co-authored a book on this same topic. He currently writes the monthly MTM Pearls column for Pharmacy Today. He is a member of APhA, NCPA, ACCP, ASCP, and the Iowa Pharmacy Association.

Philip P. Burgess currently holds numerous leadership positions within the pharmacy community. He has been the President of the Community Pharmacy Foundation since its inception in 2002, on the Executive Committee of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy, and serving his 14th year on the Illinois State Board of Pharmacy (5 terms as Chairman). After 40 years at Walgreens holding numerous corporate management positions including National Director of Pharmacy Operations and National Director of Pharmacy Affairs, he founded Philip Burgess Consulting in 2009. His company is primarily focused on assisting in regulatory changes that maximize the use of technology to improve patient care. Past activities include serving as APhA’s representative on the HIT Advisory Board, the Pharmacy e-Health Information Technology Collaborative, the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS during the Clinton and Bush Administrations, and on the National Board of Directors of the Human Rights Campaign. His various honors include the NACDS Harold Pratt Lifetime Achievement Award and the Operation PUSH Unity Partner Award. His pharmacy degree is from the University of Tennessee and received his MBA from the University of Chicago.