APhA Academy Leaders: The Power & Promise of Pharmacy was the theme for the 2013 APhA Academies Leadership Meeting (ALM) as 50 leaders from APhA’s three Academies and the Board’s Strategic Directions Committee convened in Washington, DC, on April 26–28 for professional development, goal planning, and networking.

APhA President-elect Matt Osterhaus served as the ALM master of ceremonies, and APhA Academy of Pharmacy Practice & Management President Nicki Hilliard, APhA Academy of Pharmaceutical Research & Science President Bill Fassett, and APhA Academy of Student Pharmacists (APhA–ASP) President Brandi Hamilton served as cohosts.

On Friday afternoon, Alex Varkey, former APhA–ASP President, delivered a well-received keynote presentation, Making Your Mark: Finding Your Spark, Igniting Your Fire, and Preventing Burnout to Advance Practice and the Profession, which provided attendees with 1.5 hours of CPE, and I provided an overview of APhA’s strategic direction and key priorities for our newly inducted leaders.

A highlight of the weekend was the ALM networking reception and barbecue held on the Potomac View Terrace at APhA headquarters on a beautiful Friday evening, complete with toasts from each Academy president and APhA President-elect Osterhaus.

On Saturday morning, APhA President-elect Osterhaus presented Pursuing Provider Status: The Environment, Strategies, and Profession Focus, followed by a presentation by Laura Cranston from the Pharmacy Quality Alliance. Laura’s presentation, Creating Effective Virtual Workgroups: Harnessing the Power of Leaders and Volunteers to Achieve Measurable Results, provided leaders with helpful tips and guidance about how to effectively lead workgroups within a virtual environment.

Sunday morning was spent with each Academy finalizing goals and objectives based on APhA President Steve Simenson’s charges and the APhA strategic priorities. Over the weekend, the Academies’ Standing Committees also developed their work plans.

More information, including the 2013–14 goals for APhA’s Academies, will be presented at the June Board meeting. I think our leaders gained a much stronger appreciation of APhA as an organization. Thanks to the Academy presidents for their leadership and to those APhA staff who worked to make the ALM a success. This meeting is truly a team effort involving many departments within APhA. We greatly appreciate Amgen’s support of the 2013 ALM.