Susan Winckler Honored with Zellmer Lecture

PRESS RELEASE

9/4/2014-- Susan C. Winckler, B.S. Pharm., J.D., managing partner for Leavitt Partners, will present the fifth annual William A. Zellmer Lecture on September 16, 2014, as part of ASHP’s Policy Week activities in Bethesda, Md. ASHP, which represents pharmacists who serve as patient care providers in acute and ambulatory settings, holds this event each year as part of its policy development and advocacy activities.

ASHP established the William A. Zellmer Lecture in 2010 in collaboration with the ASHP Research and Education Foundation. It honors Zellmer’s contributions to policy development, advocacy, planning, and communications during his career with ASHP. The lecture is given annually during ASHP Policy Week by a distinguished individual who has demonstrated exceptional leadership in advancing health care-related public policy that has improved the safety and effectiveness of medication use through the engagement of pharmacists.

As managing partner, Winckler leads the daily operations and client relationships of the Leavitt Partners Washington, D.C., office. Winckler is the former chief of the staff for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this capacity, she provided integrated policy analysis and strategic consultation to the commissioner and senior FDA officials on significant agency issues and programs, serving as the agency’s principal liaison with HHS. Most recently, Winckler served as the president and CEO of the Food and Drug Law Institute, a non-profit organization based in Washington, D.C., providing a marketplace for discussing food and drug law issues through conferences, publications, and member interaction.

At the FDA, Winckler led the operations of the Office of Legislation, Office of External Relations, Office of Public Affairs, and Office of the Executive Secretariat. She joined the FDA in September 2006 as the Director, Policy Communications, in the Office of Policy and Planning within the Office of the Commissioner, where she served as a point person for constituent communications and policy development on key issues. Immediately prior to joining the FDA, Winckler served as the vice president for policy and communications and staff counsel for the American Pharmacists Association (APhA), serving as the organization’s senior lobbyist on Capitol Hill.

Winckler is a graduate of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and the Georgetown University Law Center, magna cum laude. She has been recognized as a Fellow of APhA, a Distinguished Alumna of the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy, a Distinguished Young Alumna by the University of Iowa Foundation, a Woman of Distinction by Alpha Xi Delta Fraternity, and elected as a Distinguished Fellow in Public Policy to the National Academies of Practice, Pharmacy Academy.