Contributors

Joseph H. Harmison, PD, is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma, Joe is the owner of Harmison Pharmacies and The Dispensary Corporation, both surgical center pharmacies, and DFW Prescriptions, an apothecary pharmacy, in the Dallas-Fort Worth area. He is a past president of NCPA and the Texas Pharmacy Association, and still an active member.

B. Douglas Hoey, RPh, MBA is the CEO for the National Community Pharmacists Association. Hoey joined NCPA in 1996. Prior to NCPA, Hoey spent 14 years working in community pharmacies that provided home infusion, long term care consulting, compounding, and full-line DME services.

In 2005 he became NCPA’s first Chief Operating Officer reporting directly to CEO, Bruce Roberts, and overseeing NCPA’s government affairs, management institute, communications, and strategic initiatives departments. Prior to assuming the COO role, Hoey was responsible for leading the NCPA Management Institute as it doubled its student membership, initiated new programs such as the NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Business Plan Competition, and released resources such as the 2001-06 NCPA Digests, Effective Pharmacy Management CD, and the NCPA HIPAA Handbook for Community Pharmacy. He was also the NCPA Foundation Staff Liaison from 1999-2006 which provided hundreds of thousands of dollars in student scholarships and research grants.

Hoey is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center College of Pharmacy and has an M.B.A. from Oklahoma City University.

John M. Coster, Ph.D., R.Ph., is Senior Vice President of Government Affairs and Director of the Center for Community Pharmacy Advocacy, National Community Pharmacists Association.

Prior, from 2007 to 2009 he served as Vice President, Federal Affairs and Public Policy, Rite Aid Corporation, the nation’s third largest drug chain with 5,100 pharmacies in 37 states and the District of Columbia. He was responsible for maintaining and developing relationships with policymakers, members of Congress, and regulatory agencies and identifying and impacting Federal health program legislation and trends that impacted Rite Aid’s business objectives and operations. He was also responsible for developing and executing policy and strategy relating to Federal and state health care issues.

From January 2000 until July 2007 he served as Vice President, Policy & Programs, with the National Association of Chain Drug Stores (NACDS) in Alexandria, VA. At NACDS he was responsible for policy issues relating to Federal health care programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid, and Federal regulatory issues, such as FDA and CMS.

From April 1990 through April 1994, he served as a professional staff member of the United States Senate Special Committee on Aging. In his capacity, he was responsible for all issues relating to pharmaceutical coverage and cost containment. He was involved in the drafting of the Medicaid pharmaceutical rebate provisions of the Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (OBRA) of 1990, the Veterans Health Care Act of 1992, and the Medicaid pharmaceutical and vaccine-related provision of OBRA 93. He served as a member of the President’s Task Force on Health Care Reform, and helped to draft the pharmaceutical-related provisions of the President’s Health Security Act, including the Medicare outpatient prescription drug benefit.

Prior to joining the staff of the Senate Aging Committee, he was a Health Analyst at the United States Congress Office of Technology Assessment (1989-90), a Policy Fellow at the Center Drugs and Public Policy at the University of Maryland Graduate School in Baltimore (1988-89), and a staff member of the American Society of Hospital Pharmacists, ASHP (1984-1987).

His education includes a B.S. in Pharmacy from St. John’s University College of Pharmacy and Allied Health Professions in New York (1984), and a Masters (1988) and Ph.D. (1989) in Health Policy from the University of Maryland Graduate School in Baltimore. He completed an executive residency in association management at ASHP (1985). He holds pharmacist licenses in New York and Maryland.

Zachary French is NCPA’s Vice President, PBM Transparency Initiatives.  Previous to joining NCPA, Zack served for 3 years as Senior Vice President, Sales and Client Services, Walgreens Health Initiatives, a PBM with 9.6 million lives.  Zack has also held sales and account management leadership positions in information technology companies – Apple, Toshiba, EDS- as well as consulting firms with an emphasis on healthcare and insurance markets.

John Norton is Associate Director, Public Relations for the National Community Pharmacists Association. He spearheads the association’s media outreach efforts.

Prior to joining NCPA, Norton worked in various public relations roles with the Democratic National Committee, Children’s Defense Fund, and Carmen Group, Inc.. He had previously worked in television production and programming with the National Basketball Association and ABS sports. Norton is a graduate of Occidental College.

Kevin Schweers is Senior Vice President Public Affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association. He oversees the organization’s public relations, marketing, member communications, grassroots, and Internet activities.

Prior to joining NCPA, Schweers was Deputy Assistant Secretary for Public Affairs at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. In that capacity, he developed and implemented communications strategies for programs and initiatives involving food and drug safety, health information technology, Medicare and Medicaid, among other areas.

Previously, in the U.S. Congress, he served as Communications Director for the House Energy & Commerce Committee as well as Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison and then-Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr.

In the private sector, Schweers has worked for the Electronic Industries Alliance and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. He is a graduate of the University of Georgia.

Lisa Schwartz, Pharm.D., R.Ph. is Director, Management and Professional Affairs for the National Community Pharmacists Association. She is a pharmacist on staff in the Management Institute.

Prior to joining the association, Fowler worked in community pharmacies in Buffalo, Minnesota, and the Minneapolis, MN area. She is a graduate of the North Dakota State University College of Pharmacy where she was president of the NCPA Student Chapter.