For Immediate Release
CONTACT:
Christina McCloskey
Associate Director, Operations
Pharmacy Quality Alliance
cmccloskey@PQAalliance.org
PQA Builds its Senior Leadership, Research and Performance Measurement Teams to Align with New Three-Year Strategic Plan
Alexandria, VA (March 12, 2018) - PQA announced an expansion of its senior leadership, research and performance measurement teams as it continues to strengthen its infrastructure and partnering opportunities to align with the organization's new strategic plan.

PQA is pleased to announce the appointment of Norris Turner, PharmD, PhD as Vice President, Strategic Alliances and Measure Implementation, and key member of the senior leadership team. Dr. Turner will lead the organization's efforts to gain implementation of its measures across a broad array of payors and providers as PQA continues to strengthen its infrastructure through partnering opportunities with other measure developers and across its multi-stakeholder base. Before joining PQA, Dr. Turner worked in the life sciences industry for 19 years, most recently with Janssen where he served as the Director, Health Care Quality, Central Nervous System. He is a recognized champion for policy solutions in quality and population health management that supports interventions and a higher standard of care for those living with chronic illness.

As PQA strengthens the entire team to build upon the valuable work of PQA, a key promotion was announced for Matthew Pickering who has moved into the role of Director, Research and Quality Strategies. During his tenure with PQA, Dr. Pickering has expanded PQA's research and demonstration project portfolio. He has spearheaded the relaunch of PQA's Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) and led PQA's first internal research project as a result of the Insulin Adherence Roundtable. This effort has led to the initiation of PQA's new AGILE Model. Dr. Pickering will continue to identify needed studies to further validate the impact of PQA's measures on improving patient care, reduce overall healthcare spending, and fill recognized gaps in performance measurement including an Access to Care initiative in partnership with the National Pharmaceutical Council (NPC).

John Galdo (Jake), PharmD, MBA, BCPS, BCGP joins PQA as Director, Performance Measurement. Dr. Galdo's primary responsibility includes working with measurement development teams (MDTs), task forces, and stakeholder advisory panels (SAPs) to develop new measures. Additionally, he will serve as the liaison for the Patient & Caregiver Advisory Panel to incorporate the patient's voice during measure development. Dr. Galdo brings a unique experience from his independent pharmacy practice and his role as an academician.

PQA is also pleased to have Melissa (Mel) Nelson, PharmD, CPHQ, former PQA Executive Fellow move into a new role as Associate Director, Research and Academic Affairs where she will be responsible for helping PQA accomplish its research agenda as well as expanding the internship and fellowship programs. Dr. Nelson has been a strong contributor to increasing PQA's grant proposal output and expanding PQA's research portfolio.

Additionally, to continue to build on its membership services, Virginia Sweeter, CMP joins PQA as Director, Meetings bringing over 30 years of executive leadership experience in small business, association management and educational program and logistical management. Her primary responsibility is to ensure successful execution of PQA's annual conferences.

Furthermore, PQA welcomes Laurel Glenn as Project Coordinator to support the expanding research and demonstration project portfolio. She is a retired United States Marine Corps officer and brings over 30 years of project management, logistics, and operations experience.

"We are pleased that Norris has joined the team, bringing to PQA knowledge and experiences from his wide-ranging responsibilities and leadership positions that he has held within the life sciences industry. We are also excited to welcome Jake, Mel, Virginia and Laurel to the team and recognize Matt for his expanded role in driving PQA's research initiatives. We look forward to the contributions of this highly-talented and committed team as PQA continues to focus its efforts on optimizing health by advancing the quality of medication use," stated Laura Cranston, PQA CEO.
About PQA:
The Pharmacy Quality Alliance (PQA) is a non-profit organization committed to
optimizing health by advancing the quality of medication use. PQA, a recognized leader in quality measure development, is dedicated to improving the safe and appropriate use of medications, researching the impact of quality measurement, and providing education on quality-based healthcare. Established in 2006, PQA is a transparent, consensus-based, multi-stakeholder organization representing over 225 member organizations including healthcare payers, health plans, community pharmacies, physician providers, life sciences organizations, state and federal government agencies, academic institutions, standard setting/accreditation organizations, health information technology (HIT) partners, and other stakeholders interested in improving the quality of the medication-use system. For more information about the Pharmacy Quality Alliance, please visit www.PQAalliance.org or contact us at (703) 347-7963.
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