HOPA Welcomes 2023-2024 Elected Board Officials

President-Elect

Jolynn Sessions, PharmD, BCOP, FHOPA

Current Employment
Oncology Pharmacy Manager | Charles George VA Medical Center

Oncology Clinical Pharmacist Practitioner | Charles George VA Medical Center

Election Statement
"Dear HOPA Colleagues, your consideration of my candidacy for HOPA President-Elect 2023 is much appreciated. During the 5 years as your HOPA Treasurer (2015-2019), I had the opportunity to learn the inner workings of our non-profit organization, grow as a leader, and work with excellent members, committee members, committee leadership, fellow board members, and HOPA staff. Through my cumulative involvement and experience with HOPA, I am a uniquely qualified and familiar candidate. HOPA has been my professional home, and my involvement with HOPA began before there was a HOPA in the MAD-ONC days. There are few HOPA committees that I have not worked with in some capacity over the years, either as a member, leader, or board liaison.

I would work diligently with the current board and leaders to fulfill ideas and goals in process, and work to identify new goals. I'd like to explore further expansion of HOPA's research efforts into collaborative projects, further HOPA's efforts on diversity and equity, test the landscape for increased oncology pharmacist involvement on expert panels of national guidelines and position statements, and bolster new tools and resources for the practicing and administrator oncology pharmacist.

I have very intentionally spent my entire career thus far in direct patient care. It is these direct interactions as a pharmacist provider that both fuel my passion and break my heart. We have so much work to do, so many needs to meet. In many places, the oncology pharmacists and technicians are still the hidden gems, not fully realized or recognized for the work that you're doing.  Patients depend on you, teams depend on you.  HOPA has made great strides in increasing the awareness of our vocation, and I would work to further extend this awareness. As a University of Florida graduate, we are engrained to ""not back down"" for things that matter, things that make a difference, things worth fighting for and things that are good. Knowing that sometimes it is hard, and you may not succeed initially.  I have learned much and grown much from great colleagues and mentors through my career at Moffitt Cancer Center as a pharmacy intern/student and technician, Wake Forest Baptist Healthcare as a PGY1 resident,  M.D. Anderson Cancer Center as a PGY2 Oncology Resident,  Grady Health System as their first oncology clinical pharmacist, Emory Healthcare as a clinical pharmacist, PGY2 oncology residency director and clinical coordinator, UNC School of Pharmacy/Mission Healthcare as shared faculty, and the Western North Carolina VA Health System as a pharmacist provider. These varied experiences have provided exposure to a breadth of concepts and ideals to be used for HOPA's benefit.

Thank you." 

Board Member At-Large

Jason Bergsbaken, PharmD, BCOP, MBA

Current Employment
Resident Program Director, PGY2 Oncology | UW Health

Pharmacy Coordinator, Regional oncology Services | UW Health

Election Statement
"It is an honor to be nominated to serve as Board Member At-Large on the HOPA Board of Directors.

It's a challenging time in healthcare; more than ever our ability to best serve our cancer patients is facing multiple threats, including increasing costs, drug shortages, complex payment models, and most recently a global pandemic. Despite these challenges, HOPA remains laser focused to reach towards our vision that all individuals affected by cancer have a hematology/oncology pharmacist as an integral member of their care team.

I currently serve as Pharmacy Coordinator, Regional Oncology Services and PGY2 Oncology Residency Program Director at UW Health and well as Clinical Assistant Professor at the UW-Madison School of Pharmacy in Madison, WI. My previous HOPA involvement includes Chair of the BCOP Oversight Committee and BCOP Annual Conference Subcommittee. Currently, I serve as a member of the HOPA Public Policy Committee. Throughout my years as a HOPA member, the common bond between all experiences within the organization is the remarkable, intelligent, caring, and fun! professional network of HOPA members working to improve the lives of cancer patients.

If entrusted as a member of the board, I pledge to work collaboratively with other leaders and staff to ensure HOPA continues to be your professional home. Regardless of your title and practice setting; whether you are a frontline clinician, clinical specialist, oncology administrator, industry professional, resident/student trainee, or other oncology professional; HOPA is equipped to support your goals and help you optimize cancer patient outcomes. HOPA can continue to evolve and improve this support through several areas: networking opportunities, innovative continuing professional education, enhanced volunteer experience, and strategic advocacy efforts.

Regardless of your practice setting and role, the ability to serve as an integral member of the patient care team for cancer patients is a significant privilege. HOPA is well-positioned to support members in their endeavors to help cancer patients now; and will continue to evolve and grow stronger as an organization in the future.

I am humbled by the nomination for the Board Member At-Large on the HOPA Board of Directors and greatly appreciate your consideration."

Board Member At-Large

Sol Atienza, PharmD, BCOP

Current Employment
Resident Program Director, PGY2 | Aurora Health Care

Oncology Pharmacy Clinical Specialist | Aurora Health Care

Clinical Instructor | Concordia University – Wisconsin

Adjunct Instructor | Midwestern University

Adjunct Instructor | Drake University

Election Statement
"I am grateful to have the opportunity to be a candidate for the board member at-large position within the Hematology Oncology Pharmacy Association (HOPA) organization.  I bring to the candidacy a wide variety of experiences.  As a member since the inception of HOPA, I have been involved in various committees, task forces, workgroups and poster activities; achieved an award; and had the opportunity to present at a HOPA conference.  My 28 years of clinical practice is primarily in the inpatient setting within Advocate Aurora Health, a large organization of 27 hospitals and 500 small and large sites of care.  This gives me the appreciation of a vast range of work environments and their different challenges.    Furthermore, I have reviewed and am an author of various publications, including book chapters for oncology pharmacy.  In addition, I have been involved in other organizations such as the Board of Pharmacy Specialties (BPS) and the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO).

Addressing HOPA's Strategic Plan, I would like to contribute to all 4 tiers being Professional Development, Professional Tools and Resources, Research, and Advocacy. 

An area I would like to immediately address is Professional Development.  We should invest time and effort into grooming our residents and learners.  I am the Resident Program Director (RPD) to a twelve-year PGY2 Oncology Pharmacy Residency program.  I assure that our residents are deeply engrained in our practice.  In fact, all our learners, including students, are able to contribute valuable work that benefit our patients and staff.  HOPA has started the efforts of preparing our learners to be leaders by integrating the pharmacy residents into the various HOPA activities such as committee involvement, journal clubs, poster sessions, Special Interest Groups and webinars. I would like to continue to expand on this involvement.  Developing leadership skills and encouraging involvement from our trainees will help HOPA expand and grow.

Professional Tools and Resources is a valuable and practical area to our membership. Oncology pharmacists and technicians continue to face many challenges in their practice.  HOPA has the capacity to address these obstacles by continuing to create standards, guidelines, and education.  In the past, I participated in the creation of the oncology pharmacy practice standards and am currently on a committee to address coordinated strategies that optimize safe and quality care with anti-cancer medications while minimizing toxicity and cost.  Through a committee, I was involved in the HOPA Value of Care Summit and the publication of a White Paper to discuss and educate the membership on a topic that not everyone is versed in.  I plan to continue these efforts to address the issues and educate my colleagues.  I would like to also consider local chapters or entities of HOPA to facilitate the many services of HOPA, but in a local fashion.

I am proud to be a member of HOPA and would be grateful for the opportunity to serve you as board member at-large.  I would work hard to represent your voice and address your needs."

THANK YOU to all of the Candidates who expressed their interest in serving during the 2023-2024 Board term. Terms for the above, elected officials begin at the close of HOPA Annual Conference 2023, on April 2, 2023.