The PQA Executive Fellowship: Developing Tomorrow’s Quality Leaders
Ten years ago, PQA established a Postdoctoral Executive Fellowship. The program has hosted 13 fellows, and everyone has successfully completed the program and moved into an important industry role, where they are leaders in pharmacy, medication services and quality improvement.
Applications for the 2024-25 fellowship positions are due November 28. It’s an incredible opportunity to join the nation’s only quality organization that is dedicated to improving medication safety, adherence and appropriate use.
Find out what sets the PQA Executive Fellowship apart and where the program’s alumni are making their mark across health care.
An Opportunity to Work with Diverse National Stakeholders in Quality
The PQA fellowship is a unique program that enables new doctors of pharmacy, medicine and science to work with PQA members through the organization’s multi-stakeholder consensus-based approach to quality medication use.
PQA members represent the full spectrum of organizations that have a role in the medication use process. Their collaboration through PQA is unique in health care. Rarely will you find this diverse set of companies, organizations and industries working together to advance quality.
PQA fellows are an important part of the PQA staff team. They take on significant roles in project management, education, performance measurement, research and association management. As a small organization with a big mission and broad portfolio of quality-focused programs, initiatives and events,
PQA provides immense on-the-job experience that helps fellows accelerate their skills, knowledge and understanding of quality programs and operations.
A Legacy of Success and a Pathway to High-Impact Careers
PQA fellows are making a difference today as leaders across the industry.
Applications for the 2024-25 fellowship positions are due November 28.
Three fellows have joined PQA’s staff on a full-time basis, and they hold director-level roles in performance measurement, stakeholder engagement and operations.
Three are working with health plans to implement and improve the quality of medication services.
You’ll find other fellows leading medication services and quality programs at biopharmaceutical companies, national associations, pharmacy benefit management companies, quality organizations and health care consulting firms.
Here are the PQA Executive Fellowship alumni and where they are today:
- Laurin Dixon, PharmD, Lead Executive, Medicare Products, Arkansas Blue Cross and Blue Shield (2013-2014 Executive Fellow)
- Maria Scarlatos Eid, PharmD, CPHQ, Global Professional Relations & Independent Medical Education, Vaccines, Merck (2014-2015 Executive Fellow)
- Hannah Fish, PharmD, CPHQ, Director, Strategic Initiatives at National Community Pharmacists Association (2015-2016 Executive Fellow)
- Mel Nelson, PharmD, CPHQ, PMP, Senior Director, Program and Information Management, PQA (2016-2017 Executive Fellow)
- Nicolette Mehas, PharmD, CPHQ, Associate, Provider Strategy, Policy and Operations Expert, Booz Allen Hamilton (2017-2018 Executive Fellow)
- Hannah Lee-Brown, PharmD, Director of Pharmacy Benefits, Healthfirst (2018-2019 Executive Fellow)
- Carter Chapman, PharmD, RPh, Clinical Pharmacist, Prime Therapeutics (2019-2020 Executive Fellow)
- Christopher Kotschevar, PharmD, CPHQ, Director, Stakeholder Engagement, PQA (2020-2021 Executive Fellow)
- Alexis Caronis, PharmD, CPHQ, Associate Director, Drug Safety, Leaderboard Branding (2021-2022 Executive Fellow)
- Jasmine Perry, PharmD, CPHQ, Senior Clinical Pharmacist, Blue Cross NC (2022-2023 Executive Fellow)
- Razanne Oueini, PharmD, CPHQ, Senior Manager, Performance Measurement, PQA (2022-2023 Executive Fellow)
Our current fellows, Kyra Leonard and Oliver Emmanuel Valdez, are major contributors to PQA’s ongoing quality initiatives that support better medication use and high-quality care. As with the fellows who came before them, we’re confident they’ll have a tremendous and positive impact on the industry for decades to come.
We look forward to their continued success, and we’re eager to select the next fellows who join this incredible group of professionals, contribute to PQA’s success and forge their own path in health care quality.