Nominees for AIHP’s Board of Directors Announced

Friday, September 13, 2024

AIHP’s Nominations Committee has announced the nominees for positions on the Institute’s Board of Directors. AIHP’s Board of Directors includes five officers (three of whom are elected), three elected directors, two ex officio directors, and up to three Board-appointed directors.

This year, four candidates are running for four open positions. The Committee has nominated Dr. Cynthia Boyle, PharmD, FAPhA, to stand for election as President, a position currently held by Dr. John Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, ScD (Hon), whose term runs 2022-2024. Dr. Boyle presently holds the position of Vice President, and her term runs 2023-2025. The Committee has nominated Dr. John Grabenstein, Susan Cantrell, RPh, MHL, CAE, and Dr. Ben Urick, PharmD, PhD, to run for election for the remaining open positions.

Dr. Cynthia J. Boyle, PharmD, FAPhA, is Professor Emeritus of Practice, Sciences, and Health Outcomes Research at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy. She earned pharmacy degrees from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy and the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, and she has practiced pharmacy in the community, health system, and consulting settings. Dr. Boyle has been an AIHP member since 2003. She first joined AIHP’s Board of Directors in 2020.

Dr. Boyle is past president of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) and chaired the 2020-2021 Argus Commission comprised of the five most recent AACP presidents. She is a former president of national Phi Lambda Sigma (PLS) and is co-advisor for the Beta Lambda PLS chapter.  She is also a former president of her state pharmacy association and its foundation. 

Dr. Boyle has received the APhA Good Government Pharmacist-of-the-Year and Francke Leadership Mentor Awards as well the Bowl of Hygeia and Maryland’s Top 100 Women.  She has taught “Effective Leadership and Advocacy” since 2002 and supports student pharmacists in her roles as faculty member, mentor, preceptor, advisor, and philanthropist.

Dr. John D. Grabenstein, RPh, PhD, ScD (Hon), is a globally recognized vaccinologist, pharmacist, and epidemiologist. He has written more than 300 articles and 11 books, primarily on topics of immunization, public health, and leadership. Dr. Grabenstein is president of Vaccine Dynamics, a consultancy providing services related to human vaccines, antibody products, and other immunologic drugs. He also serves as the Managing Editor of IZ Express, the newsletter of Immune.org. 

Dr. Grabenstein received his pharmacy degree from Duquesne University, a master’s degree in education from Boston University, and a doctorate in epidemiology at the University of North Carolina. He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2021 and is a Fellow of the Royal Society for Public Health. Dr. Grabenstein is the 2020 recipient of APhA’s Remington Honor Medal, American pharmacy’s highest honor for distinguished service. An AIHP member since 1994, Dr. Grabenstein joined the Institute’s Board of Directors in 2018, served as Vice President from 2020-21, and became the organization’s President in November 2021.

Dr. Grabenstein’s prior positions include Global Director of Medical Affairs for Merck Vaccines (where he led medical-affairs and scientific-policy activities for a global enterprise that provided 180 million doses annually for 13 vaccines) and Director of the U.S. Department of Defense’s Military Vaccine Agency (where he oversaw the Defense Department immunization programs for 9 million troops, retirees, and family members spread across four continents and dozens of ships at sea).

Susan Cantrell, RPh, MHL, CAE, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Academy of Managed Care Pharmacy (AMCP), the national professional society whose members manage medication therapy benefits for over 300 million Americans covered by public and private health plans. Since joining AMCP in 2016, Susan has led the organization in fulfilling its mission of increasing patient access to affordable medicines, improving health outcomes, and ensuring the wise use of healthcare dollars. Under her leadership, AMCP has made significant strides in advancing policies to address rising healthcare costs, health disparities, and the shift toward paying for value in healthcare.

Before joining AMCP, she was Senior Vice President and Managing Director, Americas for the Drug Information Association (DIA), a global society of professionals involved in the development and life-cycle management of pharmaceuticals and other medical products. She previously was Vice President of Resources Development at the American Society of Health‐System Pharmacists (ASHP). 

She received her pharmacy degree from the University of Mississippi School of Pharmacy and completed a post-graduate residency in hospital pharmacy at the University of Mississippi Medical Center. She received her master’s degree in healthcare leadership at Western Governors University and completed a Certificate in Public Health from the University of North Carolina Gillings School of Public Health. A registered pharmacist and former practicing pharmacist in hospital, home care, and specialty pharmacy settings, she is certified by the American Society of Association Executives (ASAE) as a Certified Association Executive (CAE). She is co-author of three books providing career advice for pharmacists:  Letters to A Young Pharmacist: Sage Advice on Life and Career from Extraordinary Pharmacists (2014), Letters from Rising Pharmacy Stars: Advice on Creating and Advancing Your Career in a Changing Profession (2017), and Letters to a Young Pharmacist: Even More Sage Advice on Life & Career, 2^nd Ed. (2022).

An author and frequent speaker on health care affordability and value topics, Susan is currently the Chair of the Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) Board of Directors and a member of the Center for Innovation & Value Research Board of Directors. She serves as Chair of the US Pharmacopeia (USP) Biologics Sector.

Dr. Ben Urick, PharmD, PhD, is a Senior Principal Health Outcomes Researcher at Prime Therapeutics, a pharmacy benefit manager. Previously, he was an assistant professor at the UNC Eshelman School of Pharmacy from 2016-2021.

A pharmacist and health services researcher, his work has been cited more than 400 times. Dr. Urick’s research at Prime focuses on the use of observational data to measure healthcare value and the impact of managed care pharmacy programs on member outcomes.

Additionally, Dr. Urick lectures regularly on the history of community pharmacy, has published one book chapter and two papers on the history of pharmacy, and has presented work related to the history of pharmacy at national and international conferences.

As required by AIHP’s bylaws, the Nominations Committee will present these nominees at the Institute’s Annual Business Meeting, which will be held Thursday, November 14, starting at 2:00 pm Central.

Under AIHP bylaws, any member in attendance at the Annual Business Meeting can nominate additional candidates if seconded by two other members. The Nominations Committee’s slate, plus any additional members nominated at the meeting, will appear on a digital ballot circulated to members later in November. The elected directors will take office in January 2025.