2026 SummitONE Speakers & PANELISTS
Alicia Kerry J. Mica
Alicia Kerry J. Mica is the Director of Government Relations at B. Braun Medical, overseeing the company’s U.S. public policy and advocacy strategy and engagement with government stakeholders across the country. She has over twenty years of experience lobbying, representing organizations in state and federal legislative and regulatory environments. Prior to joining B. Braun, she served as Senior Lobbyist for the American Pharmacists Association and as Director of Government Relations for the American Optometric Association. Earlier in her career, she was a Policy and Legislative Advisor at Arnold & Porter LLP. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Agnes Scott College in Georgia.
Alison Verges Walters
Alison Verges Walters, Esq. is Chief of Staff & General Counsel of Angels for Change, a national nonprofit dedicated to ending drug shortages through advocacy, awareness, and building a more resilient pharmaceutical supply chain. She was a Founding Volunteer Board Member and Chairwoman of the Board of Directors at the inception of Angels for Change.
A seasoned attorney with more than 20 years of experience in financial services law, regulatory compliance, and governance, Alison brings deep expertise in risk management, regulatory oversight, and operational leadership to the organization. As a Partner and Director of Compliance in her legal career, she has led complex compliance programs, managed regulatory audits and investigations, and advised executive leadership on strategic risk mitigation in high-volume, highly regulated environments.
At Angels for Change, Alison applies her legal and compliance background to strengthen governance, guide policy strategy, and support operational growth. She plays a key leadership role in board development, organizational oversight, and advancing the organization’s mission to end drug shortages.
Alison earned her Juris Doctor from Loyola University New Orleans College of Law, where she was a member of the National Moot Court Team. She is admitted to The Florida Bar and has served in multiple leadership roles within professional legal associations, including Chair of the Florida Bar Small Claims Rules Committee and a long standing Board Member of the National Creditors Bar Association.
Allan Coukell
Allan Coukell, BSc(Pharmacy), is Chief Government Affairs & Public Policy Officer with Civica, Inc. (Civica Rx), a non-profit generic drug company created by U.S. health systems to mitigate and prevent drug shortages. He also leads policy for CivicaScript, the Civica operating unit created to bring down pharmacy drug costs for consumers. He previously served as Senior Director, Health Programs, at The Pew Charitable Trusts. Coukell started his career as a clinical pharmacist in oncology and also spent many years as a health and science journalist. He is a board member of the End Drug Shortages Alliance, the Alliance for Building Better Medicine, and a prior board member of the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the FDA and the Medical Device Innovation Consortium. He is a graduate of the University of Manitoba and completed his hospital pharmacy residency at the Winnipeg Health Sciences Centre.
Ammie McAsey
Ammie McAsey is President of McKesson Health Systems, where she leads strategy and operations to strengthen partnerships with health systems and hospital pharmacies nationwide. She previously served as Senior Vice President of Supply Chain Operations, overseeing U.S. supply chain and distribution strategy across the U.S. for brand, generic and specialty pharmaceuticals. Ammie’s responsibilities included oversight of more than 30 distribution locations, seven central fill pharmacies, transportation services, network design and customer support.
Throughout her time in various roles at McKesson, Ammie has been a driving force behind several enterprise-wide initiatives and is known for her collaborative leadership style and strategic mindset. She has held leadership roles in regional and national distribution operations, including Vice President of Distribution Operations for the North Central Region and Director of Operations for McKesson’s Chicagoland distribution center, where she led the transition to a fully automated facility and earned recognition as Distribution Center Manager of the Year.
Ammie joined McKesson in 2007 after holding supply chain and logistics positions at Coca-Cola, Home Depot, Russell Corporation, and DSC Logistics.
April Giles
April Giles is the Executive Director of the End Drug Shortages Alliance, where she leads national efforts to address pharmaceutical supply challenges through collaboration, transparency, and strategic policy advocacy. With over 20 years of experience in healthcare and life sciences, April is a recognized leader in innovation, business development, and ecosystem growth.
Prior to her current role, she served as Vice President of Business Development at Fitzsimons Innovation Community, where she led infrastructure development, public-private partnerships, and innovation strategy. She also spent over a decade as President & CEO of the Colorado BioScience Association, where she helped expand the state’s bioscience industry and successfully advocated for increased funding and legislative support.
April has a strong background in workforce development, investor relations, and community engagement, having launched programs and partnerships that continue to impact the industry.
Arlene Joyner
Ms. Arlene Joyner is the Director of the Center for Industrial Base Management and Supply Chain for the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response (ASPR) within the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). In this role, she is responsible for leading HHS efforts on Advanced Manufacturing Technologies, Personal Protective Equipment, Testing and Diagnostics, and Supply Chain Optimization.
Ms. Joyner’s previous roles within ASPR include Deputy Director for the Pharmaceutical Countermeasures Infrastructure Division and Branch Chief for the Pharmaceutical Countermeasure Infrastructure (PCI) Department within the Center for the Biomedical Advanced Research and Development Authority (BARDA) where she started her federal service 11 years ago in 2011. Prior to joining ASPR, Ms. Joyner worked for six years at Merck and Company in Quality Auditing and Vaccine Manufacturing Operations, and 16 years at Baxter Vaccines Division as a Manufacturing Manager, Materials Management and Supply Chain Manager, and Manufacturing Operations Director.
Ms. Joyner holds a Bachelors degree in Chemical Engineering from Penn State University and a Master of Science in Chemical Engineering from Villanova University.
Arunesh Verma
Arunesh Verma is president of Fresenius Kabi USA and a member of the company’s global Executive Leadership Team with responsibility for Region U.S. Fresenius Kabi, an operating company of Fresenius, specializes in lifesaving injectable and infused medicines, biosimilars, clinical nutrition and medical technologies. Its products are used to help care for patients with critical and chronic conditions worldwide.
In the United States, Fresenius Kabi produces more than 400 million doses of medicines a year and its blood technologies and supplies are used by organizations like the American Red Cross to safeguard the nation’s blood supply.
Mr. Verma joined Fresenius Kabi in 2024. He is a global pharmaceutical leader with deep expertise leading pharmaceutical businesses and functions across North America, Asia and Australia. Before joining Fresenius Kabi, Mr. Verma gained extensive experience in driving growth, scaling businesses through innovative commercial strategies, and building pharmaceutical pipelines.
He has held roles of increasing responsibility at Cipla where he was CEO of North America, as well as Torrent Pharma, Sandoz, Dr. Reddy’s, and Novartis, where he began his career as a medical sales representative.
Mr. Verma holds an MBA from Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, and a bachelor’s degree in pharmaceutical sciences, pharmacology and pharmaceutics from the University of Mumbai.
Brannon Warn-Johnston
Composer and multi-instrumentalist Brannon Warn-Johnston often takes inspiration for her compositions from lived experiences such as backpacking trips with her violin, and her journey with cancer. Her works have been performed at Carnegie Hall, and by orchestras and ensembles including the Seattle Symphony and International Contemporary Ensemble. She is a Luna Composition Lab Fellowship alumni, has participated in the Juilliard Summer Composition Program and was featured on NPR’s From the Top and Classical KING’s Northwest Focus Live.
Celeste Frankenfeld Lamm
Celeste Frankenfeld Lamm is Senior Director at MSD, where she heads the company’s global CMC policy efforts across the quality and regulatory CMC organizations. Her focus is on identifying pain points that impede meaningful manufacturing advancements, and she collaborates across stakeholder groups to develop practical solutions that deliver more reliable, efficient, safe, and effective products to patients. She serves on the PhRMA GQM Work Group, co-leads ISPE’s Product Quality Lifecycle Implementation (PQLI) committee, and contributes to the planning committee for the Drug Information Association (DIA) annual conference. She also sits on the scientific board of the IFPAC Conference, having chaired the conference in 2025. Most recently, she served on the planning committee for the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) workshop on Improving Resiliency in the US Pharmaceutical Supply Chain. She holds a B.A. in Chemistry and Biology from Greenville University and earned her Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Chemistry from the University of Kansas.
Chan Harjivan
With more than 25 years of experience spanning public health, government, and the biopharmaceutical industry, Mr. Harjivan has worked with the leadership of nearly every major pharmaceutical company, U.S. health agency, and global health organization to accelerate the development and delivery of lifesaving vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics.
He now supports various organizations such as USP, CSIS, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists, Duke Margolis, Stanford Medical School, all focused on Global Health Security.
His last full-time position was as a Special Assistant to the President in the White House, where reported directly to the President; overseeing vaccines, therapeutics, diagnostics, R&D, supply chain and response plans to strengthen the nation’s readiness for biological threats
In 2021 he co-founded SaponiQx, a next-generation vaccine adjuvant company valued at $250 million on exit. It’s key product, STIMULON™ QS-21 is a crucial component in vaccines such as GSK's Shingrix.
He was a key architect of Operation Warp Speed, the historic federal initiative that developed and distributed the COVID-19, sitting side by side with the CEO and COO from its inception to close. It saved $1 Trillion and 3M lives
Chan was a Managing Director and Partner at Boston Consulting Group where he founded and led the Public Sector Health Practice; and prior to that, a Senior Partner at PwC where he founded and led the Global Health Practice.
Christine Dunn
Christine Dunn Vice President, Portfolio Strategy Supply Chain. Leads the development of a long-term strategy plan for our health system customers around inventory management and shortage prevention portfolio for at Cencora. A pharmacist by background for 20+ years in the acute care space starting as a clinical pharmacist and then working in a variety of leadership roles within health systems. Prior to her joining Cencora, she spent the last 11 years at HealthTrust Performance Group supporting HCA supply chain pharmacy operations and then transitioning to AVP Pharmacy Sourcing on their GPO team. Her background in pharmacy contracting and hospital procurement/operations is what has led her to be very passionate about working to end drug shortages.
DAVID SENIOR
President & SVP, Strategic Global Sourcing and Policy Economics
David Senior is a healthcare executive with more than 26 years of leadership experience at Cencora, where he has helped drive enterprise strategy, financial performance, operational performance, policy engagement, and market intelligence through periods of significant industry transformation. In June 2026, he assumed the role as President & SVP, Strategic Global Sourcing and Policy Economics. In this capacity he works closely with manufacturer partners and teams across Cencora to deliver solutions that improve access to therapies, mitigate risk in this dynamic market, and enhance customer experience. He continues to lead Policy Economics, a critical function that will assess how policy and regulatory proposals and decisions impact our industry, partners, and customers.
David joined Cencora in 2000 and served as its first strategy officer for 12 years, leading strategic planning, 30+ corp. dev. transactions, and eventually added corporate financial planning (FP&A) and Enterprise Risk Management. During that period, the company’s total shareholder return and share price increased tenfold, supported by disciplined growth, operational execution, and strategic expansion.
David later served as Business Group finance leader for Cencora’s US pharmaceutical distribution and GPO-related business units, overseeing financial and pricing strategy during a period of major market change. In 2018, he founded the Market Economics department to monitor macroeconomic trends, public policy developments, and market dynamics affecting pharmaceutical distribution. This work included creating economic models to assess policy impacts and prepare the company for changes such as the Inflation Reduction Act. His work sits at the intersection of strategy, finance, public policy, and healthcare market dynamics. In 2025, his responsibilities expanded to include oversight of market, therapeutic, and competitive dynamics across Cencora’s current and potential future markets.
Before Cencora, David spent eight years as a healthcare strategy consultant advising a variety of organizations including health systems, physician groups, managed care organizations, and pharmaceutical companies. He holds an MPH from Yale University and a BA in Economics from Duke University.
Eric S. Edwards, M.D., Ph.D.
Founder and Chairman Emeritus, Phlow Corporation
CEO, MedPhlow
Entrepreneur, Investor, Mentor
Member, Board of Directors
Dr. Eric S. Edwards is a physician-scientist, entrepreneur, and healthcare innovator dedicated to improving access to life-saving medicines. He is the co-founder, strategic advisor to the CEO and Chairman Emeritus of Phlow Corporation, a certified B Corporation working to strengthen America’s medicine supply by developing and manufacturing essential medicines and their ingredients in the United States using advanced technologies.
Prior to Phlow, Dr. Edwards co-founded Kaléo, where he helped develop innovative products designed to address critical medical emergencies. He is the co-inventor of several widely used medicines and drug-delivery systems, including the epinephrine auto-injector AUVI-Q® for severe allergic reactions and the naloxone auto-injector EVZIO® for opioid overdose emergencies. Collectively, his innovations have generated more than $1 billion in sales and, more importantly, have helped save thousands of lives.
Dr. Edwards holds more than 240 patents and has authored numerous publications on food allergies, opioid overdose treatment, pharmaceutical innovation, and the security of America’s essential medicine supply chain. Throughout his career, he has advised healthcare, pharmaceutical, and medical technology companies ranging from startups to multinational organizations.
In addition to his business and scientific leadership, Dr. Edwards has been a thought leader in the Essential Medicine supply chain advising several government agencies as well as testifying in front of Congress and served on numerous boards and advisory groups. He was appointed by the Governor of Virginia to the Board of the Virginia Biotechnology Research Park Authority and has served as a mentor and board member for Lighthouse Labs, a nationally recognized startup accelerator. He is also a founding board member of the Food Allergy Science Initiative (FASI), which supports leading researchers working to develop better treatments and ultimately a cure for food allergies.
A graduate of Virginia Commonwealth University’s Guaranteed Admission Program, Dr. Edwards earned a Bachelor of Science in Biology, a Ph.D. in Pharmaceutical Sciences, and a Doctor of Medicine degree from VCU.
Heiko Aschenbrenner
Heiko Aschenbrenner leads Supply Chain for B. Braun North America, with responsibility for demand and supply planning, strategic sourcing (direct, indirect, and external manufacturing), and operational procurement. He also oversees the distribution planning function as well as three major distribution centers located in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania; Rancho Cucamonga, California; and Daytona Beach, Florida.
Originally from Germany, Heiko began his career with B. Braun through a traditional apprenticeship program. He earned his degree in Business Administration from the Hessische Verwaltungs- und Wirtschaftsakademie in Kassel, Germany, in 1999 and has since held roles across Germany, France, Puerto Rico, and the United States, where he has been based since 2001.
Heiko spent 15 years leading Financial Planning & Analysis for B. Braun North America before expanding into supply and demand planning in 2016. In November 2021, he transitioned fully into a newly created supply chain leadership role.
He earned his MBA from Lehigh University in May 2019 with a concentration in Supply Chain Management and holds CSCP and CPIM certifications.
Since January 2021, he has served on the Board of Directors of Sterinova, a Canadian manufacturer of injectable drugs and a subsidiary of B. Braun.
Heiko is passionate about developing talent and driving data-based decision-making to improve operational performance. He represents B. Braun on the Advisory Council of the Center for Supply Chain Research at Lehigh University and teaches Strategic Sourcing in Lehigh’s graduate program during the summer term.
James Coburn
James Coburn joined ARPA-H as a Portfolio Lead in July 2025 on detail from his position as Senior Advisor for Emerging Technologies in the Food and Drug Administration’s Office of the Chief Scientist. There, he led a team that increases the agency’s experience with cross-cutting advanced manufacturing technologies. His expertise is medical manufacturing advancements, accelerated adoption of those emerging technologies, and supply chain resilience. Coburn regularly coordinates with industry and government groups on medical supply chain resilience and was previously the Medical Manufacturing Innovation Lead for the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.
In his role in the Public Health Service, Coburn has deployed to disasters and outbreak zones where he has seen agile processes and digital systems help to improve the response. He received his master’s degree in mechanical engineering from Brown University and is a recognized expert in additive manufacturing for medical products.
Jennifer D. Bair
Jennifer D. Bair, PharmD, MBA, BCPS, is the Vice President of Pharmacy Services and Chief Pharmacy Officer for Prisma Health, the largest healthcare system in South Carolina. Over the course of a distinguished career spanning more than two decades, she has led pharmacy services at every level—from pediatric critical care and clinical operations to health-system executive leadership. Dr. Bair is a board-certified pharmacotherapy specialist, earned her PharmD from the University of South Carolina and an MBA in Healthcare Management from New England College. She also serves as a Clinical Assistant Professor at the University of South Carolina College of Pharmacy and has contributed extensively to pharmacy education, residency training, research, and professional leadership. A past President of the South Carolina Society of Health-System Pharmacists, Dr. Bair is widely recognized for her commitment to advancing pharmacy practice, improving patient outcomes, and mentoring the next generation of healthcare leaders. She is also engaged at a national level with the End Drug Shortage Alliance Board and is serving as the Vice Chair this year.
Jennifer Flowers
Jennifer Flowers is a childhood cancer survivor, a teacher, and a drug shortage warrior.
A diagnosis of rhabdomyosarcoma quickly changed Jennifer’s carefree childhood to a life of fighting cancer every minute of every day – but it wasn’t a battle waged alone. Her family and friends never left her side, cheering her on and refusing to let her give in, even when test results told them what they didn’t want to hear. From this journey and extraordinary support network was born a desire to dedicate the gift that is her life to helping children. Jennifer understands not only the struggles of a physical disease, but she also knows what it’s like to navigate the never-ending road of side effects left in its wake. She wanted to help children learn for themselves that battles can be won.
College coursework prepared Jennifer for a teaching career in both general and special education. She holds an M.Ed. in Learning Disabilities and an Ed.D. in Curriculum & Instruction. As a math specialist, Jennifer provides students with intervention services to assist them in meeting academic goals. No day is more exciting in her life as a teacher than when one of her students conquers a task – and succeeds.
As a childhood cancer survivor, Jennifer is dependent upon daily doses of human growth hormone to counteract the late effects of radiation. A Nutropin AQ shortage limited her access to treatment and threatened to end it completely when the drug was discontinued. Angels for Change stepped in during this hour of desperate need to provide the support and advocacy she needed to find and secure a new medication. They haven’t left her side since. They are still working to ensure that she will have access to this essential-to-life drug for years to come.
Jennifer’s shortage experience has created a desire to provide support beyond the classroom walls. As a member of the Angels for Change Volunteer Patient Advocacy Board, she endeavors to raise awareness of the impact drug shortages have on patients’ lives with the hope of helping every survivor reach more birthdays with quality of life.
Jennifer Maguire
Dr. Jennifer Maguire is the Director of the Office of Quality Surveillance/OPQ/CDER/FDA. The office strives to be the global benchmark for pharmaceutical quality surveillance. Its mission is to turn quality intelligence throughout the product lifecycle into insights and actions to promote the availability of quality medicines for the American public. Dr. Maguire began her tenure at the Agency in the Office of Generic Drugs as a Chemistry Assessor before joining the newly created Office of Pharmaceutical Quality to focus on process and facility aspects of drug applications. During her tenure, Dr. Maguire has contributed to multiple initiatives aimed at advancing the regulation of pharmaceutical manufacturing and product quality including Question-based Review, Quality by Design, ICH Q12, Site Selection Model Program, Advanced Manufacturing, Quality Metrics and Quality Management Maturity. She also represents the agency on the PIC/S Committee of Officials and is engaged in multiple efforts focused on global harmonization. Dr. Maguire has a BS in Chemical Engineering from the University of Virginia and a PhD in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from Purdue University.
Jesse Schafer
Jesse Schafer is Executive Director of the Healthcare Industry Resilience Collaborative (HIRC), where he leads the organization's strategy, programs, and partnerships. His work focuses on transforming industry collaboration into adaptive resilience through shared standards, trusted transparency, decision signals, practical implementation, and industry alignment—strengthening healthcare supply assurance and protecting continuity of patient care.
Under his leadership, HIRC operationalizes these capabilities through practical tools, collaborative programs, and strategic partnerships that enable organizations to adopt common industry practices at scale.
Interested in advancing adaptive resilience through industry collaboration? I'd welcome the opportunity to connect.
Joan Eliasek
Joan Eliasek serves as President, North American Pharmaceutical Distribution. In her role, Joan leads the North American Pharmaceutical segment, which ensures the safe and reliable delivery of medicines and therapies across the U.S. and Canada, and partners with stakeholders across the healthcare ecosystem to deliver insights, products, technology and services that help make quality care more accessible and affordable.
Joan joined McKesson in 1995 and has held a variety of leadership roles across the company, including operations, sales, marketing and supplier management. Most recently, Joan served as President, McKesson Canada, leading McKesson's portfolio of businesses in Canada, including pharmaceutical distribution operations, Specialty Health and McKesson's network of independent pharmacies comprised of I.D.A., Guardian, Remedy'sRx, The Medicine Shoppe, Uniprix and Proxim.
Prior to that, Joan served as Senior Vice President, Customer Experience, for McKesson’s Medical-Surgical business unit, leading operations, customer service, materials management, sales administration and data management. Earlier in her career, Joan held multiple management positions in field operations at Baxter Healthcare Corporation.
Joan has served on several boards in the healthcare industry, including Healthcare Industry Distributors Association (HIDA), HIDA Educational Foundation and Global Healthcare Exchange. She is also a long-time advisor to the Professional Women in Healthcare (PWH) board. In 2018, Joan was the first recipient of the Anne Eiting Klamar Leadership Award of Distinction by PWH. Joan was also inducted into the Repertoire Medical Distribution Hall of Fame in 2023.
Joan received her Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and Business Administration from the University of Iowa.
Joseph “Joe” Hamel
Joseph “Joe” Hamel currently serves as the Senior Advisor for the Enabling Innovations and Technologies Office which is housed within the Administration for Strategic Preparedness and Response Center for Industrial Base Management and Supply Chain.
Joe has spent more than 23 years leading biological defense and security initiatives within both the public and private sectors. He has led diverse teams to develop and deploy all-hazard defense technologies and enhance facility security and laboratory safety practices worldwide.
Joe previously served as a Program Manager within the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, where he led systems biology and national health research initiatives. Joe was also responsible for execution of the $1B per year U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Protective Security Officer Program, implementing quality management, contracting, and administrative efforts to ensure the safety of over one million daily occupants and visitors to Federal facilities.
Prior to joining DHS, Joe served as the program manager within the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical and Biological Defense (JPEO-CBD). In this role, he led Department of Defense (DoD) initiatives to deploy novel global biological surveillance and response capabilities.
Joe received his Bachelor of Arts in Molecular Biology from Colgate University, and his Master of Science in Biotechnology from The Johns Hopkins University. He is also the recipient of the U.S Army Achievement and Commendation Medal for Civilian Service for his contributions towards the establishment of global biosecurity initiatives. Joe has earned multiple superior service medals from ASPR and received a personal letter of commendation from the President for his actions during the COVID-19 pandemic response.
LAURA BRAY
Laura Bray, MBA is the Founder and Chief Change Maker of Angels for Change, the only U.S. patient-led nonprofit singularly focused on ending drug shortages. Called the “Pharmaceutical Industry’s Accidental Expert” by NPR, Laura has become one of the nation’s most respected and pragmatic leaders driving reform across healthcare supply chains.
What sets Laura apart is her rare combination of lived patient experience and business acumen. After her daughter Abby endured three life-saving chemotherapy drug shortages during pediatric cancer treatment, Laura transformed personal crisis into systemic change. With a background in marketing strategy, small business consulting, and an MBA from the University of South Florida, she approaches drug shortages not only as a patient advocate, but as a builder of market-based, scalable solutions.
Under her leadership, Angels for Change has supported facilities and patients through more than 130 unique drug shortage crises, helped secure access to over 800,000 shortage treatments during supply disruptions, and operates the nation’s only drug shortages patient hotline. Laura has built the Global Supply Sharing Network, launched SummitONE, the only U.S. conference exclusively dedicated to drug shortages, and co-founded the End Drug Shortage Alliance (EDSA), bringing together manufacturers, GPOs, health systems, regulators, and patient advocates to implement practical, measurable solutions.
Laura is also the architect behind two groundbreaking initiatives:
Project Protect a first-of-its-kind resilience model that creates predictable demand and supply stability for vulnerable generic sterile injectables on shore. Project Protect has been recognized nationally as an innovative market-based approach to strengthening domestic manufacturing and safeguarding essential medicines. The initiative has received bipartisan praise and industry accolades for demonstrating that aligning patient voice with procurement strategy can drive measurable supply chain resilience.
Project GOLD (Generic Oncology Lifesaving Drugs) a targeted initiative focused on building on-shore buffer supply of critical oncology medications, ensuring that cancer patients never face treatment delays due to fragile supply chains. Project GOLD leverages cross-sector collaboration, transparent data, trusted communications, and proactive strategies to protect the most vulnerable patients.
Laura’s bold leadership has earned national recognition, including being named a 2023 Healthcare Champion by CNN. She has served on the White House drug shortages task force, testified before Congress, and has been featured in more than 100 national media stories including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Axios, STAT News, Fox News, and NPR.
Before founding Angels for Change in 2019, Laura served as an Adjunct Business Professor at Hillsborough Community College for nearly two decades, equipping future leaders with practical business skills. Today, she applies that same disciplined, solutions-oriented mindset to one of healthcare’s most complex challenges.
Laura Bray is not only advocating for change, she is building it. Her work bridges patients, policymakers, and industry to create a resilient, accountable pharmaceutical supply chain so that no patient ever hears the words, “We don’t have the medicine you need.”
Lindsey Thomas
Lindsey Thomas is Senior Vice President of Marketing at Fresenius Kabi USA, a leading manufacturer of sterile injectable medicines. She is responsible for all aspects of Marketing and Product Management strategy, execution and analytics for the U.S. Pharmaceuticals business. Lindsey joined Fresenius Kabi in 2013 and has held multiple Marketing and Sales leadership roles.
Lindsey has launched more than 125 products over the course of her career and has a track record of delivering product and award-winning labeling solutions that optimize pharmacy workflow while advancing medication safety best practices.
Lindsey has been recognized for her authentic leadership style and focus on empathy and collaboration to achieve win-win outcomes. She is active in industry efforts to find a solution to drug shortages and was named Changemaker of the Year in 2024 by Patient Advocacy Non-profit, Angels for Change. She is on the board of directors for the American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Foundation and has previously held an advisory board position for the End Drug Shortages Alliance.
Prior to her time at Fresenius Kabi, Lindsey held commercial leadership roles at Sagent Pharmaceuticals and Baxter Healthcare.
Lindsey holds an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management and B.S. degrees in Marketing, International Business and Spanish from Marquette University.
Mark Spiecker
President / Board of Directors Member STAQ Pharma, Inc.
Mark Spiecker is President of STAQ Pharma, a 503B Outsourcing Facility in Colorado and Ohio that manufactures sterile injectable compounded medications for hospitals across the country. Under Marks leadership STAQ Pharma has been recognized nationally for solving drug shortages for our nations most vulnerable patients.
Prior to joining STAQ, Marks’s career spanned a number of strategy and leadership roles. In each role Mark utilized his passion for business development, process improvement and innovative operations to successfully guide complex organizations through significant change.
Mark is the former CEO of Sharklet Technologies, Inc. a medical device firm that developed a texture inspired by Sharkskin to control bacteria on surfaces. Mark exited Sharklet to a Bioscience group out of China, providing significant returns to shareholders.
Previously, he was the Director of Restructuring and Investor Relations for Adelphia Communications Corporation, which at the time was the nation’s fifth largest U.S. cable operator. He was instrumental in the company’s bankruptcy and re-organization efforts which included the sale of the company, a subsidiary in Brazil, and a joint-venture in Puerto Rico. At 360networks, a telecommunications infrastructure and services provider in the U.S. and Canada, he was responsible for business development, client services and operations structure development. Mark’s innovations in the order fulfillment process and the implementation of his consulting methodology enabled the company to emerge from bankruptcy.
Mark enjoys leading complex, cross-functional teams in quality and improvement projects and was able to successfully turnaround multiple sites for home building products manufacturer Louisiana-Pacific Corporation in his role as Performance Improvement Project Manager. With Tricon Global Restaurants Mark held several roles in operations management with increasing responsibility. Here, Mark was recognized nationally for success in operational improvement.
Mark is an active community leader, currently serving as a Trustee and Chair of the Nominating and Governance Committee at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science, an advisor to the Institute for Science Policy, a Board Member for the Food Bank of the Rockies, as past Chair and current Board Member of the Denver Metro Chamber of Commerce, as a Board Member and Co – Chair of the Membership Committee for the Ending Drug Shortages Alliance, as an Advisory Board Member for Angels for Change, and Co-Chair of the 2025 Colorado Ballet One Gala. Prior to 2024, Mark served as a Board Member of the Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Chair of the Board of the Colorado Biosciences Association (CBSA) and was appointed by the Governor of Colorado to serve as a Commissioner for the Early Childhood Leadership Commission as well as the Colorado Workforce Development Council. He has also served on the Corporate Relations Committee for the Denver Museum of Nature and Science. He is a graduate of Leadership Denver’s class of 2012 and is a Civic DNA Fellow from the class of 2018.
Mark earned an MBA from Rockhurst University. He holds a B.S.BA. in Marketing from Rockhurst University and a A.A from the University of Florida. He enjoys time with his five kids and all that Colorado has to offer.
Marta E. Wosińska
Marta E. Wosińska, Ph.D. is a Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at The Brookings Institution. She is a healthcare economist specializing in prescription drug markets and a leading expert on the economics of drug shortages. She has experience spanning top academic institutions, prominent think tanks, and federal agencies including FTC, FDA, and HHS Office of Inspector General.
Meera Bhavsar
Meera Bhavsar is the U.S. Commercial lead in Pfizer’s Global Hospital & Biosimilars organization and has accountability for generic injectables, surgical, and biosimilars products.
Meera has a deep breadth of experience in the pharmaceutical industry, having spent 30 years in both US and global roles spanning manufacturing, commercial development, and marketing.
After spending over three years at Merck’s West Point manufacturing site, Meera joined Pfizer in 2000, where she held roles of increasing responsibility within the Global Supply organization before transitioning in 2011 to the established products Commercial organization. Achievements include the US launch of 25 generic injectables, significantly increasing multi-source and differentiated drug delivery pipeline program value, managing the anesthesia portfolio through the COVID-19 pandemic, and crisis management and leadership during the tornado impact at the Rocky Mount manufacturing site.
Meera received her B.S. in Pharmacy from Rutgers University, College of Pharmacy, and her M.B.A. from Stevens Institute of Technology. Meera and her husband, Karteek, live in New Jersey and have two grown children, Dilan and Jasmine, of whom she is very proud. In her free time, she loves to see the world with family and friends, scuba dive, and ski.
Melanie Welcher
Melanie Welcher is a healthcare supply chain and pharmacy procurement leader with more than 23 years of experience in pharmacy operations, sourcing, and strategic procurement at Sutter Health. Rising from pharmacy technician to Director of Pharmacy Procurement & Logistics, she has built expertise in 340B program development, drug shortage mitigation, inventory optimization, pharmaceutical resiliency, and strategic sourcing. Melanie is recognized for her leadership in advancing healthcare supply chain solutions, including her contributions to national drug shortage initiatives through the End Drug Shortage Alliance (EDSA) and Angels for Change. Beyond her professional work, she is a dedicated community advocate who leads the California Cowgirls nonprofit, supports veterans and youth through equine programs, and provides animal-assisted therapy with Lilly, her certified miniature therapy horse.
Nicole Pace
Nicole Pace is a pharmaceutical industry professional with extensive experience in drug shortage risk, portfolio management, business development, and generic drug market intelligence. She currently serves as a Senior Drug Shortage Risk Advisor at McKesson, where she monitors supply trends, identifies emerging shortage risks, and supports mitigation strategies for specialty products. Nicole has held leadership roles at XGen Pharmaceuticals and Par Pharmaceutical, where she managed product portfolios, evaluated pipeline opportunities, supported licensing and partner development, and led competitive intelligence initiatives. She brings strong expertise in generic drugs, regulatory and market analysis, stakeholder communication, and cross-functional collaboration.
Polly Webster
Polly Webster is Senior Health Counsel for the U.S. Senate Finance Committee Democrats. Her portfolio includes pharmaceutical issues across Finance Committee jurisdiction health care programs, including the Committee’s work on drug prices, pharmacy benefit managers, vaccines, and drug shortages.
Polly was previously Vice President, Federal Affairs at the Association for Accessible Medicines, which advocated on behalf of generic and biosimilar medicines. She also served as Principal Policy Advisor handling pharmacy and prescription drug policy at Kaiser Permanente. On Capitol Hill, Polly served as Congresswoman Diana DeGette’s Health Policy Director, where she spearheaded the Congresswoman’s work on the 21st Century Cures Act and other policy initiatives. She also previously held roles on the Senate Finance Committee and in Senator Jay Rockefeller’s Office (D-WV).
Polly received her Bachelors from Denison University, her Master of Public Health from The George Washington University, and her law degree from Georgetown University.
Stephen Colvill
Stephen Colvill is an Assistant Policy Research Director at the Duke-Margolis Institute for Health Policy, where he leads the Duke-Margolis ReVAMP Drug Supply Chain Consortium and policy work on other supply chain and biomedical innovation topics. Stephen is a board member for the End Drug Shortages Alliance and a volunteer advisor for Angels for Change, and he frequently speaks at national forums on pharmaceutical supply chains, drug shortages, pharmaceutical regulation, and biomedical innovation. Stephen previously served in the White House Domestic Policy Council as Senior Policy Advisor for Medical Supply Chains. He also co-founded RISCS, a nonprofit drug supply chain rating and certification organization with a mission to prevent drug shortages, and held various roles at Pfizer and Hospira in business analytics, supply chain, manufacturing, finance, marketing, and commercial portfolio management.
Susan C. Winckler
Susan C. Winckler, RPh, Esq., is CEO of the Reagan-Udall Foundation for the Food and Drug Administration. The Foundation is the non-profit organization created by Congress to advance the mission of the FDA.
Prior to accepting the Foundation post, Ms. Winckler served as President of Leavitt Partners Solutions, a national healthcare strategy firm founded by Gov. Michael O. Leavitt, former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Ms. Winckler directly advised CEOs and C-suite executives of life-sciences and pharmaceutical companies, payers, health-care providers, government agencies, employers, and associations on international, federal and state public policy and regulation, business strategy, investments, M&A, and other major business matters. Ms. Winckler also served as Chief Risk Management Officer for the entire Leavitt Partners family of businesses. Before becoming President, her role leading the DC office for Leavitt Partners included serving as Interim Executive Director of the Health Care Transformation Task Force, an alliance of patients, payers, providers, and purchasers committed to moving 75% of their businesses to value-based payment by 2020.
A pharmacist and attorney by training, Ms. Winckler was CEO of the Food & Drug Law Institute, which serves nearly all major law firms’ food and drug practices, government regulators, leaders of pharmaceutical, device, food and tobacco companies, and consumers with class-leading legal and regulatory resources, analyses, updates, journals, and conferences. She provided a neutral forum for these stakeholders to address domestic and global food and drug law issues. She also served on FDLI’s board.
As Chief of Staff for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (2007-2009), Ms. Winckler managed the Commissioner’s Office, served both Republican and Democratic commissioners as their senior-most staff adviser, analyzed complex policy challenges, and represented FDA with the White House, myriad government entities, and external stakeholders. She was unique among her predecessors in also simultaneously leading FDA’s Offices of Legislation, External Relations, Public Affairs, and Executive Secretariat. In 2007, she led FDA’s medical product negotiation with China’s then-State Food and Drug Administration, resulting in the Product Safety Memorandum of Agreement between the two nations. Her earlier career service included more than a decade at the American Pharmacists Association in a series of positions of increasing responsibility.
Ms. Winckler earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Iowa College of Pharmacy and her law degree magna cum laude from Georgetown University Law Center. She is an APhA Fellow, served as an elected member of the United States Pharmacopeial Convention (USP) Board of Trustees (2015-2020, 2020-2025) and Chair of that Board from 2019 to mid-2025, a member of the Purgo Scientific, LLC board, and a member of the Virginia Commonwealth University School of Pharmacy National Advisory Council. She previously served on the boards of the Partnership for Safe Medicines and the American Society of Pharmacy Law, and on the executive leadership board for the Univ. of Iowa College of Pharmacy.
Tanya Silva Alcorn
Tanya Silva Alcorn is President of Pfizer’s Global Hospital & Biosimilars organization, a first-of-its-kind, end-to-end organization overseeing manufacturing and commercial operations for Pfizer’s vast sterile injectables and biosimilar portfolio. Global Hospital & Biosimilar’s essential medicines are used in hospitals and acute care facilities in the U.S. and in over 120 international markets, reaching millions of patients annually.
In her over 25 years with Pfizer, Tanya has held multiple leadership roles in manufacturing, Quality, Strategy and Supply Chain. Most recently, Tanya was Senior Vice President, Sterile Injectables and Biotech Operations, where she oversaw 19 manufacturing plants globally, responsible for producing a total of 4 billion doses each year. Previously, as Vice President, Global Supply Chain, Tanya had oversight of demand, supply and inventory management for ~600 innovative and established products and 15,000 SKUs across 175 markets. While in this role, Tanya led the effort to stand up a first-of-its-kind distribution model for Pfizer’s COVID-19 vaccine and COVID-19 oral treatment during the global pandemic.
Tanya is the daughter of Portuguese immigrants and was born and raised in New Jersey. She received her bachelor’s degree in Biological Science from Rutgers University and went on to receive a master’s degree in systems engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology, where she currently serves on their Advisory Board. She has received recognition as both a Rising Star and a Luminary from the Healthcare Businesswomen’s Association and currently holds positions on both the HBA Global Board of Directors and The HBA Foundation Board of Directors. Tanya was recently named to Women We Admire’s “Top 50 Women Leaders in Healthcare for 2025” and is also a member of CHIEF, a senior executive women’s network. Tanya is married with three children and two dogs and together with her family enjoys traveling and enjoying all of life’s moments.
Terri Lyle Wilson
Terri Lyle Wilson is the Vice President of Pharmacy at the Children’s Hospital Association (CHA), bringing extensive experience across diverse pharmacy practice settings, including home infusion and hospice, ambulatory care and population health to support the nation’s leading pediatric hospitals and the patients they serve.
Terri leads collaborative efforts among children’s hospitals and health systems to enhance patient care, hospital sustainability, and healthcare delivery through pharmacy strategy, drug shortage mitigation, group purchasing, and clinical quality initiatives. With a focus on innovation and impact, Wilson drives solutions that improve care quality, optimize hospital operations, and strengthen pharmacy services across pediatric institutions nationwide.
A respected industry leader, Terri serves on multiple boards and committees, including past Chair and current board member of the End Drug Shortages Alliance (EDSA), Board Member of the Healthcare Supply Chain Association (HSCA), and advisor to Angels for Change. Recognized for her contributions to pharmacy and healthcare advocacy, Wilson has received industry recognition such as the 2025 End Drug Shortage Alliance “Catalyst Award”, the 2023 Angels for Change “Changemaker of the Year” and has earned the Certified Pharmacy Executive Leader (CPEL) Certificate of Leadership.
Valerie Jensen
Valerie Jensen is Associate Director of the Drug Shortage Staff at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. She received a B.S. degree in Pharmacy from the University of Iowa in 1990 and joined the US Public Health Service as a Commissioned Officer upon graduation. She completed an American Society of Health-System Pharmacists Specialized Residency in Ambulatory Care at the White River Indian Health Service hospital in White River, Arizona in 1991. She worked as a clinical pharmacist for Indian Health Service hospitals in Arizona and New Mexico before joining FDA in 1999. She retired from the Corps in 2020. She was one of the initial developers of FDA’s Drug Shortage Program and was named Associate Director in 2012.
Viraj Gandhi
Viraj Gandhi is the CEO of Medivant Healthcare and a third-generation pharmaceutical entrepreneur. With an Executive MBA from Stanford, he leads Medivant Healthcare’s mission to deliver high-quality sterile injectables and strengthen the U.S. drug supply chain. His work focuses on cost-saving solutions for hospitals and ensuring consistent access to critical medications.
