Situated within the APhA headquarters, the Women in Pharmacy Exhibit and Conference room celebrates the achievements of remarkable women throughout the history of pharmacy.
The exhibit, which was dedicated in 2012, highlights many firsts for women in U.S. pharmacy, including innovating pharmacy practice as entrepreneurs, advocating for health care, serving in federal pharmacy and providing leadership in national pharmacy organizations.
The APhA Foundation launched the Women in Pharmacy Recognition Campaign to commemorate the 10th anniversary of the dedication of the Women in Pharmacy Exhibit and Conference Room. The next 10 honorees will join the roster of distinguished women and organizations similarly honored in 2012. The distinguished women featured are a sampling of the many women in pharmacy who contribute to this vital health care profession every day.
The Next 10 Women in Pharmacy honorees are:
Marialice Bennett, RPh, FAPhA
Marialice Bennett, a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, was one of the first pharmacists in the country to create and implement inpatient clinical pharmacy services which ultimately transformed hospital pharmacy practice. She became a respected leader known for her pioneering vision for advancing patient care in community-based practice, her contributions towards evolving pharmacy education, and her work in cultivating community-based residency training. She has mentored and inspired countless pharmacists to be agents of change. Marialice was president of APhA in 2010-11 and received the Remington Honor Medal in 2021.
Baeteena M. Black, D.Ph.
Baeteena Black graduated from the University of Tennessee. Her career included community and long-term-care pharmacy practice, the pharmaceutical industry, and state association leadership. A role model to many, Baeteena served in local, state, and national leadership positions and received numerous awards, including the Hugo Schaefer Award in 2015. She was the first woman President of the Tennessee Pharmacists Association and its first woman Executive Director. Her insight and strategic vision were pivotal in her successful advocacy for the advancement of pharmacy practice.
Cynthia J. Boyle, BSP, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, FASCP
Dr. Cynthia J. Boyle graduated from the University of Oklahoma College of Pharmacy and University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, both of which recognized her as a distinguished alumna. She practiced in community, institutional, and consultant settings prior to her academic career.
As the first woman elected as Speaker of the American Association of Colleges of Pharmacy (AACP) House of Delegates, Dr. Boyle served as the 2015-2016 AACP president. She is a self-described pharmacist-educator who was honored with the 2022 Robert K. Chalmers Distinguished Pharmacy Educator Award. In addition, she received the Bowl of Hygeia Award, the AACP Crystal APPLE award for contributions to learning excellence in experiential education, the American Pharmacists Association (APhA) Franke Leadership Mentor Award and Good Government Pharmacist of the Year, and Maryland’s Top 100 Women. Dr. Boyle, with co-editors Drs. Robert Beardsley and David Holdford, published Leadership and Advocacy for Pharmacy in 2007 through APhA.
Dr. Boyle has served as president of the Maryland Pharmacists Association and its foundation, national president of Phi Lambda Sigma, and chair of the Pharmacy Academy in the National Academies of Practice. She is known as a leader, advocate, mentor, and philanthropist who has funded four student pharmacist scholarships at schools/colleges of pharmacy and APhA Foundation.
Janet P. Engle, PharmD, PhD (Hon), FAPhA, FCCP, FNAP
Executive Director of the Accreditation Council for Pharmacy Education, Jan Engle served as President of APhA, as a voting member of the FDA Nonprescription Drug Advisory Committee and on the Board of Directors of BPS. Dr. Engle was elected as a Distinguished Practitioner in the National Academies of Practice and was named an APhA Fellow, an ACCP Fellow and received the APhA Distinguished Achievement Award for Clinical/Pharmacotherapeutic Practice. She worked with the Pharmacy Council of Thailand and received an honorary PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences from Khon Kaen University. She has practiced pharmacy in community, hospital, long-term care and pharmacy-directed ambulatory clinic settings.
Jean-Venable "Kelly" R. Goode, PharmD, BCPS, FAPhA, FCCP
Dr. Goode started her academic career at her alma mater, Virginia Commonwealth University. A female faculty pioneer in community-based pharmacy practice, she has spearheaded practice innovation, transformation and enhanced postgraduate residency training through direct impact as a practitioner, role model, mentor, advocate, educator, and scholar. A recipient of numerous awards including the Inaugural NACDS Foundation Community Pharmacy Faculty Award and the 7th woman recipient of APhA Daniel B. Smith Practice Excellence Award. She is an early leader and expert in pharmacy-based immunization delivery and is the APhA liaison member to the National Vaccine Advisory Committee. Active with leadership roles in numerous pharmacy and interprofessional organizations, she served as the 161st President of APhA.
Metta Lou Henderson, PhD
A pharmacy graduate of the University of Arizona, she became a practicing pharmacist, held leadership roles in pharmacy organizations and spent many years in pharmacy education with a high point of her academic career being professor emerita, Ohio Northern University. She was APhA Honorary President and served as Grand President of Kappa Epsilon Fraternity. Among her honors was being a recipient of the APhA Gloria Niemeyer Francke Leadership Mentor Award. A noted pharmacy historian, she has documented and written extensively on woman pharmacists including the book, “American Women Pharmacists Contributions to the Profession.” She enjoys mentoring student pharmacists and practicing pharmacists.
Lucinda L. Maine, PhD, RPh
With degrees in pharmacy from Auburn (BS ’80) and Minnesota (PhD’85) Lucinda embarked upon a career of leadership with passion for the profession’s full potential. She served as the second female president of Student APhA, Speaker of the APhA House of Delegates and Trustee. Her career included 10 years on staff at APhA (1992-2002) and culminated with 20 years as EVP and CEO of AACP. Lucinda received the Gloria Niemeyer Francke Leadership Mentor Award (2018) and was the 6th woman to receive the Remington Honor Medal (2019).
Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP
Magaly Rodriguez de Bittner, PharmD, FAPhA, FNAP, is a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico and the University of Maryland, Baltimore (UMB) and a professor at UMB. Her passion and vision for pharmacy led to innovative programs such as the Maryland P3; earning her national and international recognition, including as the first woman to receive the Maryland Bowl of Hygeia, UMB’s Entrepreneur of the Year, and the APhA Foundation Pinnacle Award. She served as executive director of the Center for Innovative Pharmacy Solutions, APhA trustee, and former president of both the APhA Foundation and the Maryland Pharmacists Association. She is a trailblazer, educator, and mentor exemplified by her service to the profession.
Beverly J. Schaefer, RPh
After graduating from the University of Washington, Beverly Schaefer spent her entire pharmacy career practicing pharmacy in a single community pharmacy in Seattle, Washington. Her leadership efforts in being one of the first pharmacists to provide patient immunizations was ground-breaking and life-changing for the pharmacy profession and patients. Pharmacists are now considered an essential element of the nation’s immunization infrastructure. Providing immunizations helped ignite a revolution in public health and spurred evolution of pharmacy practice to include other patient care services, point of care testing, collaborative prescribing and pharmacists helping patients lead their heathiest lives.
RADM (Ret.) Pamela Schweitzer, PharmD, BCACP
Pamela Salas Schweitzer graduated from the University of California, San Francisco School of Pharmacy. She served 29 years of her career in federal service including Indian Health Service, Veterans Health Administration and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. From 2014-2018, she served as the 10th Chief Pharmacist Officer in the U.S. Public Health Service Commissioned Corps, providing leadership and coordination with the Office of the Surgeon General and the Department of Health & Human Services. She was the first female in this role.