NABP Executive Committee Names 2019 Honorary President Anita Young, EdD, RPh

Each year, the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy® (NABP®) Executive Committee selects an individual to serve as its honorary president for the coming year. NABP is pleased to announce that Anita Young, EdD, RPh, has been awarded this honor for 2019 and was recognized during the Annual Awards Luncheon at the NABP 115^th Annual Meeting, held May 18, 2019, in Minneapolis, MN. In recognition of her dedication to the Association’s mission and goals, NABP named Dr Young as its honorary president for her commitment to the boards of pharmacy, to protecting public health, and to her significant involvement with NABP.

Dr Young is devoted to increasing pharmacist engagement with community health and making health care more accessible. For over 50 years, Dr Young has been an active leader in the field of pharmacy. She is currently the NABP District 1 secretary/treasurer and serves on the Meeting Planning Committee for District 1 and 2. She also served on NABP’s 2017 Task Force on Best Practices for Veterinary Compounding and has served on NABP’s Advisory Committee on Examinations since 2015. She was also a member of the Massachusetts Board of Registration in Pharmacy from 2012 to 2014.

Dr Young works hard to ensure that people dealing with drug abuse have access to necessary resources. She advocated for standing orders for intranasal naloxone for Massachusetts pharmacists, and she regularly does outreach to destigmatize addiction, especially among pharmacists and other health care providers. Dr Young also lobbied for an academic seat on the Board to facilitate collaboration between the pharmacy the board and the schools of pharmacy. Due to her efforts, the board now includes a designated seat for a representative of the schools of pharmacy.

For the past 15 years, Dr Young has been the director of continuing pharmacy education at Northeastern University. In recognition for her lifelong dedication to community pharmacy, Dr Young received the Bowl of Hygeia Award in 2017.

Dr Young earned her bachelor of science degree in pharmacy from the Massachusetts College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences; her master’s degree in education from the University of Massachusetts, Boston; and her doctorate in education from Northeastern University.

NABP is the independent, international, and impartial Association that assists its state member boards and jurisdictions for the purpose of protecting the public health.