NABP Announces 2024 Leadership Award Recipients

The National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) has announced the recipients of the 2024 NABP Leadership Awards. Each year, the Association presents awards to individuals who have worked with unwavering dedication to ensure NABP’s continued service to the regulation of pharmacy practice and to the state boards of pharmacy in protecting public health.

This year’s leaders include:

• Robert H. Carpenter, BS, RPh, recipient of the 2024 Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award;
• Lenora S. Newsome, PD, recipient of the 2024 NABP President’s Award;
• The Missouri Board of Pharmacy, recipient of the 2024 Fred T. Mahaffey Award;
• Brenda McCrady, PD, recipient of the 2024 John F. Atkinson Service Award;
• Kimberly A. Burns, RPh, JD, recipient of a 2024 Henry Cade Memorial Award; and
• Kari Shanard-Koenders, RPh, MSJ, recipient of the 2024 Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award.

Biographies for the award recipients follow.

2024 Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award: Robert H. Carpenter, BS, RPh

Robert Carpenter is receiving the 2024 Carmen A. Catizone Honorary President Award in recognition of his dedication to NABP’s mission and goals and his commitment to protecting the public health. A member of the Vermont Board of Pharmacy from 2014 to 2023, Carpenter served as vice chair from 2016 to 2018 and in 2022, and as chair in 2023. He has worked in community pharmacy for nearly 50 years. An active member of NABP since 2014, Carpenter was chair of NABP’s District 1 from 2017 to 2019 and currently is District 1 secretary/treasurer. He was the District 1 representative on the NABP Committee on Resolutions in 2018 and 2023 and has served on several other NABP committees and task forces. In addition, Carpenter has been a member of the Vermont Pharmacists Association since 1976, serving as treasurer from 1992 to 2000 and as president from 2000 to 2003. He earned his bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy.

2024 NABP President’s Award: Lenora S. Newsome, PD

Lenora S. Newsome, 2023-2024 NABP president, former president of the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy, and a member since 1991, is receiving the 2024 NABP President’s Award. Prior to becoming NABP president, she served one-year terms as president-elect and treasurer and a three-year member term (District 6) on the Executive Committee from 2018 to 2021. As NABP President, Newsome led an initiative focused on providing resources to support the mental health and well-being of pharmacists and pharmacy staff. Her initiative also included a review of mental health and well-being considerations in NABP accreditation programs. Under her leadership, NABP also carried out several actions identified during the “Implementing Solutions Summit: Building a Sustainable, Healthy, Pharmacy Workforce and Workplace,” and NABP became a National Academy of Medicine Change Maker, supporting the agency’s National Plan for Health Workforce Well-Being.

An active member of NABP, Newsome has served on numerous task forces and committees, including the Task Force on the Regulation of Pharmacist Care Services and the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation. Newsome earned her bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy.

Fred T. Mahaffey Award: The Missouri Board of Pharmacy

The Missouri Board of Pharmacy is receiving the 2024 Fred T. Mahaffey Award for its contributions to the regulation of the practice of pharmacy. The Board’s many notable contributions include revising Missouri’s pharmacist licensing procedures to reduce processing time and expedite entry to practice for new applicants, incorporating and adopting a Just Culture regulatory model, and providing an educational webinar series, resulting in increased licensee compliance and a reduction in disciplinary actions. In addition, the Board promulgated several regulatory changes that empower pharmacists to operate at the apex of their education and protect public health and enacted rules to expand patient access to pharmacy services. The Board also implemented the Missouri Pharmacy Well-Being Program and continued operation of the Rx Cares for Missouri Statewide Medication Destruction and Disposal Program.

John F. Atkinson Service Award: Brenda McCrady, PD

Brenda McCrady, deputy director of the Arkansas State Board of Pharmacy since 2011, is receiving the 2024 John F. Atkinson Service Award for her sustained and significant contributions to the mission of NABP and the pharmacy regulation landscape. An active NABP member, McCrady has served on several NABP task forces and committees, including the Task Force to Create an Industry Standard for Pharmacy Technician Scope of Practice and Entry-Level Requirements to Support Interstate Portability in 2023 and the Work Group on Workplace Safety, Well-Being, and Working Conditions in 2022. She also participated in several NABP Forums for compliance officers and legal counsel. McCrady practiced in community pharmacy for 25 years prior to joining the board of pharmacy. She is a member of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association and Arkansas Society for Pharmacy Law. McCrady earned her bachelor of science degree from the University of Arkansas College of Pharmacy.

Henry Cade Memorial Award: Kimberly A. Burns, RPh, JD

Kimberly A. Burnsis receiving a 2024 Henry Cade Memorial Award for her dedication and extensive involvement in support of NABP’s examination programs, including the Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Examination CommitteeTM certification program and developing the Uniform Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination (UPJE). Burns is a professor at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine (LECOM) School of Pharmacy, associate professor of pharmacy and therapeutics at the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy, an adjunct full instructional professor at the University of Florida College of Pharmacy, and a legal consultant for various corporations, pharmacies, and law firms. While at LECOM, Burns has been a coordinator and lecturer for numerous pharmacy-related courses. Burns served on NABP’s Foreign Pharmacy Graduate Equivalency Examinations® (FPGEE®) Review Committee from 2012 to 2014 and on the FPGEE/Pharmacy Curriculum Outcomes Assessment® Review Committee from 2016 to 2019. She is also currently serving on the UPJE Steering Committee and UPJE Review Committee. She earned her juris doctor degree from Duquesne University Kline School of Law and bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy.

Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award: Kari Shanard-Koenders, RPh, MSJ

Receiving the 2024 Lester E. Hosto Distinguished Service Award for her strong commitment to protecting public health and significant involvement with NABP is Kari Shanard-Koenders.
Shanard-Koenders has been executive director of the South Dakota Board of Pharmacy since 2015 and served as director of the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program from 2012 to 2015. Under her leadership, the Board facilitated the development of a medication repository program. In addition, Shanard-Koenders has made numerous contributions to NABP’s initiatives through her service on several committees and task forces, including the PMP Steering Committee and the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation. She also served on the NABP Task Force on Workplace Safety and Well-Being in 2021, the Work Group on Workplace Safety, Well-Being, and Working Conditions in 2022, and the Task Force on Pharmacist and Pharmacy Personnel Well-Being in 2023. Further, she has served as an item writer and reviewer for the Multistate Pharmacy Jurisprudence Examination®, served as chair of NABP’s District V from 2021 to 2022, and served as a panelist at several NABP Forums. Shanard-Koenders earned her bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the University of Kansas and master of science degree in jurisprudence from Seton Hall University School of Law.