UB SPPS Welcomes NCPA President for Leadership and Advocacy Discussion
By Samantha Nebelecky
Published March 16, 2026
The University at Buffalo (UB) School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences (SPPS) welcomed Kristen Riddle, PharmD, president, National Community Pharmacists Association (NCPA), to campus on March 9 for an engaging discussion on leadership, advocacy and the evolving future of community pharmacy.
Riddle, the 2025-26 NCPA president, has been an active member of the association for more than 20 years. A graduate of the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences College of Pharmacy, she and her husband, Jeremy, co-own American Home Pharmacy in Clinton, Arkansas. Her leadership experience spans the profession of pharmacy: she is a former president of the Arkansas Pharmacists Association and delegate to the United States Pharmacopeia.
Visit to SPPS
Riddle began her campus visit with a meeting with Gary Pollack, PhD, dean of SPPS, followed by a luncheon with Department of Pharmacy Practice faculty and senior leadership.
The highlight of her visit was a presentation on the future of community pharmacy delivered to SPPS faculty, staff, students and Western New York community pharmacy leaders. The session provided attendees with the opportunity to hear directly from national community pharmacy leadership and engage in a discussion about the profession’s most pressing challenges and emerging opportunities.
“Pharmacy is not a career—it’s a calling,” Riddle shared, encouraging student pharmacists to embrace leadership roles and volunteer within their communities. She emphasized the importance of involvement, networking and learning from practicing pharmacists who are eager to share their experience and support the next generation of pharmacists.
When a student asked, “Knowing what you know now, what would you change?”, Riddle replied that she would not change anything, noting that her mistakes and failures helped shape her path.
Following her presentation, Riddle participated in a student‑moderated Q&A panel, sharing her optimism about the future of community pharmacy and encouraging students to consider independent pharmacy involvement and ownership.
Her visit concluded with meetings alongside student leaders and faculty advisors from the SPPS student organization chapters of NCPA, Pharmacists Society of the State of New York and Pharmacists Association of Western New York.
For over 140 years, the University at Buffalo School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences has continually been a leader in the education of pharmacists and pharmaceutical scientists, renowned for innovation in clinical practice and research. The school is accredited by the American Council of Pharmaceutical Education and is the No. 1 ranked school of pharmacy in New York State and No. 19 in the United States by U.S. News & World Report.
