Walt has 26 years’ experience in starting, growing and managing a global business as retired Founder and CEO of Fortitech Inc. Fortitech was a global producer of human nutritional products used in the Food, Pharmaceutical and Life Sciences Industries. The company had four business unit covering the world and eight plants and distribution center -USA, Denmark, Poland, Malaysia, Brazil, China and Mexico. The company was sold in 2012 to the DSM, the multibillion-dollar Dutch based global leader in the Life Science Industries. Walt is Trustee/Secretary of the National Museum of Thoroughbred Racing and Hall Fame. He is a graduate of SUNY at Plattsburgh in microbiology and in 2021 was awarded Doctor of Humane Letters by the Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences.
Bill Shields '84, RPh, MBA, is the retired CEO and current member of the Board of Directors at Advanced Infusion Solutions (AIS), the leading provider of advanced sterile, patient-specific intrathecal pump medications and in-home intravenous infusion including immune globulin therapies. He has a wide range of experience in leadership roles in the healthcare industry. Prior to joining AIS, he served as the President at MTS Medication Technologies, CEO at Artromick International, EVP at Amerisource, Bergen and President of PharMerica.
Richard H. Daffner '63, MD, FACR, RPh, LHD, practiced radiology with Allegheny Radiology Associates and Allegheny General Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, for 30 years. Dr. Daffner also taught at several colleges and universities including Temple University School of Medicine and Duke University Medical Center. His list of scholarly accomplishments includes serving as author on eight textbooks, 27 book chapters, and 169 journal articles.
Helen Ashuntantang ‘06, PharmD, MS, MPH, MSL, is a Critical Care Medical Science Liaison working with BioMerieux Inc. Prior to BioMerieux, Dr. Ashuntantang worked as a credentialed pharmacy provider with San Carlos Apache healthcare where she assumed many roles. At San Carlos, Dr. Ashuntantang started and ran the Opioid stewardship program, Pharmacist run Hepatitis C clinic, renal pharmacy program, the MTM program as well as co-hosted a radio show which focuses on various health issues facing the community for two years. Dr. Ashuntantang also worked with the Medication Therapy Management department for Walmart Central Patient Care Services (WPCPS) for about four years. Prior to WPCPS, she worked for Rite Aid Pharmacy for over 6 years as a community pharmacist/ MTM specialist. As a public health pharmacist, she realized the need for health education as a major tool for disease prevention and management.
Matthew Bette is the Principal and co-founder of Bette and Cring, a diversified construction management, design-build, and general contracting firm. He has more than 40 years of experience in the construction industry and has been responsible for the successful delivery of over two billion dollars in construction projects. Along with his brother Peter, he helps lead the overall operations of the company.
Holly Bonsignore '82, PhD, has over 30 years of experience in the pharmaceutical industry with a focus on leadership of global technical teams transferring new products and technology from Research and Development to Manufacturing. She is currently Head, Integrated Oral Solid Dose and API Technical Services for Viatris Inc. Her prior roles include Vice President, Global Technology and Engineering for the Pfizer Upjohn Division and Vice President, Solid Oral Dose Product and Process Development, Pfizer Inc. She previously worked in Inhalation Product Development with GSK. She holds a Ph.D. in Industrial and Physical Pharmacy from Purdue University.
Karen M. Carpenter has been a government and organizational leader for more than 30 years, having held positions for five governors, and as a chief executive officer for more than 20 years. She currently serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Vanderheyden Inc., a child welfare organization serving over 700 individuals and families each day in educational, residential and community-based programs.
Prior to Vanderheyden, Carpenter was the Commissioner of the New York State Office of Alcoholism and Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), overseeing 4,000 providers serving more than 100,000 residents of New York State each day in prevention, treatment and recovery programs.
Prior to her role as New York State OASAS Commissioner, Carpenter’s leadership roles in nonprofit, health organizations and public service included President and CEO, National Association of Addiction Treatment Providers; Vice President Regional Operations, American Cancer Society; Executive Vice President for Government Programs, CDPHP; Director of Children and Families, New York State Office of Mental Health; and Assistant Secretary for Human Services for New York State Governor Mario Cuomo.
Carpenter has served on numerous professional and community boards, and is currently on the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, University at Albany Center for Women in Government and Civil Society, The Capital Region Chamber of Commerce, WMHT Public Television, and The Mohawk Hudson Humane Society. She has been the recipient of many national and state awards for her innovation and leadership in health, public policy, and community service, including the Albany-Colonie Chamber of Commerce Woman of Excellence award. She is a member of the Women Presidents’ Organization and Forum of Executive Women and was a 1990 Fellow for the Center for Women in Government.
Carpenter holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in social work from the Rochester Institute of Technology and Adelphi University, respectively.
Edward J. Enos '84, MS, RPh began his career as a pharmacist for Community Health Plan, then transitioned to specialize in computerized patient files, registration, and scheduling and implemented the first Electronic Medical Record (EMR) system in the Capital District. As Director of Operations for Community Care Physicians, Mr. Enos managed 22 primary care, general surgery and imaging locations. Currently, Mr. Enos is a Clinical Practice Performance Analyst at UnitedHealth Group
Donna French '88, PhD, has more than 25 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical industry in the development and commercialization of drug products and drug delivery devices. A globally recognized thought leader for combination (drug + medical device) product development and commercialization, Dr. French holds extensive leadership and technical experience in biologics drug products, drug delivery and devices; the development and implementation of technology strategies for biopharmaceuticals; and the design and implementation of business processes for development and commercialization of biopharmaceuticals and combination products.
At AstraZeneca, Dr. French is a leader of development of drug products and devices for the biologics portfolio - formulation, drug delivery systems, parenteral devices, and manufacturing process development / technology transfer for drug products and devices.
Hugh A. Johnson serves as the Chairman & Chief Economist of Hugh Johnson Economics after serving as Chairman and Chief Economist for Graypoint LLC for two years. After receiving his undergraduate degree at Dartmouth College, Hugh served as an officer in the United States Navy, and earned a master’s degree from Southern Methodist University. He serves as an advisor to the Chairman of the New York State Assembly Committee on Ways and Means. In addition, Hugh is an Adjunct Professor at Clarkson University after serving in the same capacity at Union Graduate College and Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and holds Board positions with Security Mutual Life and Pursuit (formerly New York Business Development Corporation). He was awarded a degree of Honorary Doctor of Humane Letters from Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences in 2009.
Pharmacy industry veteran, Rose Zobel Lang '69, RPh, has more than 40 years of experience in retail, independent and hospital settings, and 26 years in managed career.
Currently, she serves as a Parkinson Foundation Ambassador and Regional Advisor for Southeast Florida, promoting hospital care initiatives, community outreach, and the roll-out of online continual education learning for RPh and healthcare professionals. She leverages her professional expertise and leadership to elevate the awareness of Parkinson’s by publishing a weekly newsletter and providing seminars to local support groups, home care facilities, and hospital healthcare personnel. In 2024, she was honored by the Foundation with the President's Volunteer Service Award, a national recognition for volunteers whose service positively impacts communities across the nation.
Her career has been distinguished by an emphasis on integrity, respect, collaboration, and community. Passionate for developing people, she hired, trained and managed RPh’s and technicians while directing overall operation policy and implementing procedures for NY Retired Persons Services (an arm of AARP) and PCS Managed Care facility in PA. While serving as VP/GM, in Missouri, Texas, and Oregon she maintained morale and customer service standards while expertly managing the consolidation of personnel and operations.
She was a formidable advocate for patients, clients, and those she mentored and counseled. As CVS/CAREMARK Director, she oversaw the successful implementation of the largest pharmacy client, Federal Employee Program. As CVS/CMK VP/General Manager, she motivated and developed employees, consistently exceeding corporate goals and objectives, filling more than 1.4M prescriptions per month.
Within the ACPHS alumni community, she was honored as an ACPHS Distinguished Alumni in 2023. She joined fellow classmates to plan and implement a medicinal garden on the campus green as a legacy gift from the last class to study pharmacognosy. She hopes the results of this project will inspire current and future students to embrace the fundamentals of a time-honored profession.
Susan Learned '91, PharmD, MD, PhD, is the President and Founder of Learned Consulting Group, LLC. Dr. Learned founded Learned Consulting after serving as Senior Vice President of Global Clinical Development at Indivior. Previously, she spent nearly 20 years at GSK leading various global neurosciences clinical divisions.
Shane McGann '13, PharmD, RPh is currently Vice President, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Mythic Therapeutics, bringing with him over a decade of biopharmaceutical industry and leadership experience. Prior to Mythic, Shane spent time at BridgeBio and at Agios Pharmaceuticals, where he held positions of increasing responsibility and led global regulatory strategic planning and execution across Oncology and Rare Disease Portfolios. In addition, while at Agios he was a Director and Preceptor for their Biopharmaceutical Industry Fellowship Program. Shane completed a post-doctoral Regulatory Affairs Fellowship at Genzyme, in conjunction with MCPHS University where he was adjunct faculty. During his career, Shane has led and overseen the regulatory strategy for numerous preclinical and clinical drug development programs, including two approved targeted oncology therapies.
James Notaro '84, RPh, PhD, is the Founder and Chief Clinical Officer of Clinical Support Services (CSS), Inc., a Buffalo-based provider of medication management solutions. Prior to founding CSS in 1999, he held executive positions with Univera Health Care and was Director of Managed Care Programs/Research & Development with Centrus, an Albany-based prescription benefit management company.
Kimberleigh A. Phelan, MBA, has been with M&T Bank for 24 years and is a Senior Vice President and Senior Relationship Manager on the Middle Market Team. She is charged with managing and growing a very active and dynamic portfolio of clients with a specialty expertise in Not-for-Profit organizations. Prior to joining M&T Bank, she was with ALBANK/Albany Savings Bankin the commercial lending, credit administration, loan review and mergers and acquisitions groups for over ten years.
She has both a BS in Economics and MBA degrees from the University at Albany and finished her MBA program earning the Beta Gamma Sigma Honor Society distinction. She continues with the University as an Adjunct Professor of Finance at the School of Business.
She is avidly involved in the community, serving on the Boards of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences, University at Albany Alumni Association, Pine Hollow Arboretum, University at Albany School of Business WEMBA Advisory, and Friends of Town of Bethlehem Parks and Recreation and past Chair of Northern Rivers Family of Services and Parsons Family and Children Center. Kimberleigh has also served on the boards of the NENY Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the Art Center of the Capital District and American Red Cross. She logs countless hours each year volunteering for the organizations that are critical to keeping our communities strong and healthy.
She participated in the Capital Leadership (now Tech Valley Leadership) program and has also been awarded The Albany Business Review 40 Under 40 and the University at Albany Excellence in Community Service Award. Kimberleigh has served as a mentor for many of the University at Albany MBA classes. She is also a member of Albany Country Club.
Wallace Pickworth '69, PhD, is a pharmacologist with extensive preclinical and clinical experience. He was with NIH for nearly 30 years from a post-doc position to a tenured staff scientist at the National Institute on Drug Abuse. For the past ten years, Dr. Pickworth has directed clinical research on tobacco and nicotine for Battelle as a Research Leader. He holds licenses to practice pharmacy in two states and serves as an adjunct faculty at two colleges of pharmacy.
Gregory Sciarra '93, RPh, MBA is an executive healthcare and pharmaceutical operations leader. He is a regional vice president at Oak Street Health, a network of primary care centers for patients on Medicare and adults over 65. Gregory has vast experience with national retail, healthcare, and finance organizations driving operational and financial improvements focused on generating revenue and building corporate infrastructures and establishing operating controls.
David Stack '76, LHD, retired in January 2024 from his role as Chairman and CEO of Pacira Biosciences, Inc., a specialty pharmaceutical company focused on non-opioid medication products for pain management. Mr. Stack has shepherded several therapeutics through clinical development and FDA approval, including the successful commercial launch of the pain control product EXPAREL.
Marc Watrous ’91 RPh, PhD, has more than 30 years of leadership experience in the biopharmaceutical industry having held roles that span product development through commercialization. He currently serves as a strategic advisor to life sciences companies in the areas of drug pricing, distribution, patient services and transformational commercial go-to-market strategies. He spent nearly 23 years at Genentech. Prior to his retirement, he served as Senior Vice President for Managed Care and Customer Operations.
Dawn Thompson, JD serves as SVP of government relations for Live Oak Bank. Dawn leads advocacy efforts in Washington D.C. with Congress, federal agencies, and local and state government agencies.
Previously, Dawn was senior vice president, director of federal affairs, and associate counsel at the North Carolina Bankers Association where she led federal grassroots and advocacy efforts, answered bank regulatory and compliance questions, maintained corporate governance, and was the staff liaison for the North Carolina Young Bankers and Bank Security Committee. Prior to her role at the North Carolina Bankers Association, Dawn practiced law at Stewart & Schmidlin, PLLC in Smithfield, NC. Dawn is a graduate of Campbell School of Law in Raleigh, NC, and Stetson University in DeLand, FL.
TRUSTEE EMERITUS
Kandyce Daley '74, RPh, MBA is a retired pharmacist with Kinney Drugs in the Health Direct Division. Prior to her current position, she was Pharmacy Services Manager for the New York Group of Eckerd Corporation where she was responsible for the pharmacy operations of 449 stores in New York State, northern New Jersey, and Connecticut. She served as Chair of the ACPHS Board of Trustees from 2003 to 2009.
Presidents Emeriti
T. Gregory Dewey, PhD, was the ninth president of Albany College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences (ACPHS) between 2014 and 2022. During his tenure, Greg introduced several strategic initiatives to distinguish the school and provide enriching learning opportunities for students. These initiatives include establishing the Stack Family Center for Biopharmaceutical Education and Training, The Collaboratory, and two student-operated pharmacies. These experiential learning sites provide ACPHS students opportunities to get hands-on experience providing pharmacy and public health services to medically underserved areas.
Prior to joining ACPHS, Greg served for five years as Provost at the University of La Verne in California and served as Senior Vice President for Academic Affairs and the Finnigan Chair at the Keck Graduate Institute (KGI) of Applied Life Science in Claremont, CA. Greg began his academic career in 1982 at the University of Denver where he spent 18 years, including five years as Chair of the Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry.
James J. Gozzo, PhD, was the seventh President of Albany College of Pharmacy. He assumed the position of President and Dean in July 1998, separating the two positions in October 1999. When he was named president, the College had just one building, one academic program, and an enrollment of less than 600 students.
During his tenure at ACPHS, he led the way in academic expansion adding six bachelor’s programs and five graduate programs, expanding the diversity of the campus and the range of faculty expertise. He increased the College’s investment in research, creating new funding opportunities, expanding lab space, and establishing the Pharmaceutical Research Institute. During this time, the College acquired or constructed seven buildings, including the student center that now bears his name.
James joined the faculty of Northeastern in 1972 after completing three years of post-doctoral work at Harvard Medical School. In 1976, he assumed the directorship of the graduate program in Medical Laboratory Science. In 1980, James was awarded the Eleanor W. Black Professorship. During this time he established an active research program on the immunobiology of organ transplantation and the early diagnosis of bladder cancer securing over $5 million in research grants and publishing over 200 papers. James was also Dean of the Bouvé College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of Northeastern University in Boston.