2021 Chapter Awards Recognize Excellence

Each year the Boston Area Chapter recognizes the significant achievements of its volunteers with a family of awards designed to honor outstanding contributions. These awards are even more notable this year as we recognize the creativity and resilience of volunteers who rose to the challenges presented by the pandemic and carried the Chapter forward with enthusiasm and indefatigable spirit. Thank you to all our volunteers and congratulations to the star performers below:

Janet Tice Distinguished Volunteer of the Year Award

ENI ADEDOKUN

JANELLE CARRETERO

GEORGE WEST

STACEY VEGA

Outstanding Achievement Award

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

Student Chapter of the Year Award

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE of PHARMACY and HEALTH SCIENCES

The Hank Moes Award

H. STEVEN KENNEDY

 

Janet Tice Distinguished Volunteer of the Year Award

ENI ADEDOKUN

Eni has been the motivating force behind the Ethnocultural Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (EDEI) group from its inception.  In light of the social unrest in 2020, the Chapter wanted a new way to engage with members and the industry around the topic of diversity. Eni was instrumental in getting the EDEI group off the ground, working tirelessly for over a year to bring new focus to this important area of concern.

 

JANELLE CARRETERO

During a normal year, the Educational Programs Committee has a challenging task. During the pandemic, this challenge took on a whole new meaning. In spite of the obstacles, Janelle and her team were able to pull off a full schedule of programs while transitioning to a fully virtual environment.

 

STACEY VEGA

As chair of the Membership Committee, Stacey is well known throughout the Chapter for her dedication, creativity, positive attitude and teamwork mentality. Her commitment to growing the Chapter’s membership has won her the reputation of being the “go-to” person for getting things done, whether it’s planning events or recruiting and retaining members.

 

 

GEORGE WEST

Pandemic restrictions presented special challenges for the Chapter’s student members but George rose to the occasion, connecting the Student

Chapters through email and Zoom meetings in his role as chair of the Student Development Committee. His commitment to virtual communication actually improved connections among students at different campuses and between students and Chapter leadership, improvements that are sure to outlive the pandemic.

 

Outstanding Achievement Award

EDUCATIONAL PROGRAMS COMMITTEE

The EPC has a long history of planning and executing high-quality educational programs in the Boston area. But the pandemic presented unprecedented challenges. The committee was forced to create a wholly new approach to planning and executing programs using virtual platforms. Not only that, but everyone was virtual: How would they entice program attendees to yet another virtual event after they spent all day on Zoom calls in their living rooms? The committee never missed a beat, switching seamlessly to a virtual platform and adjusting their programming and marketing approach to suit. The result was an impressive turnout at these new, virtual events, proving that careful planning and creative topic development always wins the day.

We now find ourselves in a hybrid scenario with a mix of in-person and virtual events; or in-person events with a virtual component. Will we ever return to full in-person events with zero virtual component? Whatever happens, it’s clear the EPC will be up to the challenge with their excellent slate of up upcoming events and a highly-motivated and well-organized team of committee members.

 

Student Chapter of the Year Award

MASSACHUSETTS COLLEGE of PHARMACY and HEALTH SCIENCES

The Student Chapter at MCPHS was formally founded in January 2018 with Stephen Kerr as the faculty advisor.  Over the years, the organization has held a variety of events, with a focus on networking and career development.  The first career workshop at MCPHS was a huge success with over 100 participants. MCPHS Student Chapter members have also participated in and won the Annual Student Poster Contest.

Despite the challenges presented by the pandemic, the MCPHS Student Chapter delivered several virtual events during the 2020-21 academic year.  The first was a residency/fellowship informational event in collaboration with APhA, Rho Chi, ASHP and IPhO. The second was a virtual meditation event conducted via Zoom in collaboration with four other pharmacy professional organizations with over 40 students participating. Chapter members also took a leadership role in producing and delivering several regional events with other Student Chapters, including the highly successful 2021 Career Workshop. Lastly, the Chapter upped their social media presence, using their Instagram page for marketing and outreach and growing their number of followers fourfold.

 

Hank Moes Award

H. STEVEN KENNEDY

H. Steven Kennedy has been a leader in the biotech industry for more than 25 years.  As a veteran Chapter leader, he is known for his breadth of industry knowledge combined with his creativity and tenacity. These traits have enabled him to create a legacy for the Chapter that has earned him its highest honor, the Hank Moes Award.

Steve’s length of service and breath of accomplishments has been rivaled by few other Chapter leaders. He began his Chapter career by focusing his energy on a cornerstone of the Chapter as EPC chair, then transitioned to Product Show Committee chair. Under his leadership, the Chapter saw Product Show innovations come to fruition year after year. Always willing to push the envelope, Steve’s efforts made the Show an ever more popular mainstay of the region’s biotech industry.

Steve served for several years on the Chapter’s Board of Directors, fulfilling the president’s role in 2016. Among his many accomplishments as president, he took on the important (but thankless!) task of reworking the Chapter bylaws to ensure the Chapter would be sustainable for years going forward.  Much of this work goes without notice but is critical to how the Chapter operates today. After transitioning from the Board of Directors, Steve was a founder and president of the Chapter’s Scholarship Foundation, moving it to non-profit status which allows companies and individuals to donate tax-free.

At each step of his journey, Steve has advocated for what is best for the Chapter and ISPE and has moved the Chapter forward, ensuring its success for many years to come. For these contributions and his longstanding dedication to the Chapter’s success, Steve is awarded the Hank Moes Award.