Angela Bingham, PharmD, vice chair and associate professor in the department of clinical pharmacy, has also been a member of ASHP since she was a student-pharmacist, and has worked closely with Kasbekar for the past four years – both have traveled to Washington, D.C., to advocate for the organization’s legislative priorities.
“It was inspiring to observe firsthand her passion and commitment for improving care for our patients and advancing our profession,” Bingham says. “Dr. Kasbekar was articulate in sharing her experiences at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center, but I was most impressed by how she was intentional in developing leadership and advocacy skills in more junior members of our delegation.
“When meeting with representatives, she mentored and empowered a more junior member to lead each conversation. She fostered teamwork and inclusion within our delegation and encouraged each of us to identify future opportunities to serve our profession.”
Mentorship is an important aspect of the profession for Kasbekar, she says, because her own predecessors have done the same for her. Helping advance the careers of younger generations, women and minority pharmacists has especially been important.
Outside of ASHP, Kasbekar visits her elementary and high schools in northeast Philadelphia to talk about why pharmacy is an important profession, and to show students that pharmacists can be leaders in the healthcare industry.
“When I went to pharmacy school and went into pharmacy leadership, there weren't that many women in leadership roles. There weren’t a lot of women who excelled to that level; there also weren’t that many minorities,” she says. “For me, it's really about making sure we're empowering younger members, we're empowering women, we're empowering diverse communities to help us in this advocacy. Finding ways to engage them and finding ways to push them ahead is really important to me.”
Bingham says she is especially excited for Kasbekar to be a staple on ASHP’s “Wall of Presidents” at the organization’s headquarters in Bethesda, Maryland.
“While there have been several women presidents since 1978, Dr. Kasbekar continues to be a model for women’s leadership within our profession,” Bingham says. “She will lead an organization of more than 60,000 members, including pharmacists, student pharmacists and pharmacy technicians.”