Welcome to Our New Monthly Feature!
Welcome to the inaugural edition of my new monthly blog here in The PPA Capsule+! Moving forward, I will use this space each month to share insights, updates, and reflections on the issues that matter most to our profession and our members across the commonwealth.
For this first entry, I want to share something deeply personal that bridges my community involvement with our shared mission at the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association. On June 23, 2026, I had the distinct honor of serving as the keynote speaker at the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation recipient reception. In addition to my role here at PPA, I serve on the Foundation’s Board of Directors, an organization that has been investing in the future of local students for nearly 70 years.
Why This Message Matters to PPA?
While the audience that evening consisted of graduates, families, and educators, the core message of my address centers on a theme that defines my daily work as your CEO: the profound importance of advocacy and leadership.
In the speech below, you will find reflections on:
- Overcoming Hesitation: Embracing the truth that leadership doesn’t mean waiting for permission; it means having the courage to speak up when your voice can make a difference.
- Professional Impact: How the advocacy work of our PPA members—whether hosting legislators in your pharmacies, joining us in Harrisburg for legislative day, or writing local op-eds, directly strengthens our healthcare system and protects the patients we serve.
- A Lifelong Mindset: Understanding that refusing to accept the status quo is not separate from leadership; it is leadership.
Whether we are fighting for fair compensation, defending our scope of practice, or mentoring the next generation of pharmacy professionals, our impact depends entirely on our willingness to use our collective voice. I invite you to read the transcript of my remarks below, and I look forward to continuing this conversation with you each month.
Keynote Address: Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation Recipient Reception
Presented by Victoria E. Elliott, RPh, MBA, CAE on June 23, 2026
Good evening, Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation recipients, families, educators, and honored guests. It is truly a privilege to stand with you tonight as we celebrate one of life’s most meaningful milestones, your graduation. This moment represents years of late nights, tough decisions, and perseverance. And now, you stand at the edge of what comes next in a world that is evolving faster than at any point in our history.
Since its founding in 1956, when a small group of community leaders came together with a simple but powerful belief that every Pennsbury student should have access to higher education regardless of their financial circumstances the Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation has embodied what advocacy looks like in action. Their commitment wasn’t just about funding education; it was about opening doors, removing barriers, and saying, “We believe in you.”
And tonight, that belief is being placed squarely in each of your hands. This scholarship is not just a recognition of the hard work that got you here; it is an investment in your future voice, your future impact, and your future advocacy. The question is no longer what have you achieved, but what will you stand for next?
Professional Leadership
As you step into your chosen paths, whether that leads you into healthcare, education, business, public service, or creative fields, you will quickly discover that leadership is not something granted, it is something demonstrated. Early in my association management career, I remember thinking how I was a novice in legislative advocacy, and that my opinion in our negotiations on a piece of legislation may have been irrelevant. I questioned whether I had “earned” the right to speak up so I stayed quiet and let others with more experience lead the effort.
My takeaway from that experience and others that have followed is that leadership isn’t about waiting for permission, it’s about recognizing when your voice can make a difference and having the courage to use it. That lesson has stayed with me.
In my work today with the Pennsylvania Pharmacists Association, I see that same principle in action. Pharmacists across our state are advocating for something simple but profound—the ability to practice at the level they were trained and to be fairly compensated for the care they provide. That advocacy is not about personal gain, it’s about ensuring patients receive the best possible care. It’s about strengthening a system so it serves everyone more effectively.
These individuals are inviting legislators to their pharmacies, or joining us as we gather in Harrisburg for the annual pharmacy legislative day, or writing op eds for local newspapers and in each of those scenarios weaving a story about their work, their impact on the communities they serve through preventative healthcare and medication management programs, while at the same time educating the public and legislators on the value of those services and the importance on making sure they are paid fairly. This kind of outreach, advocating for one’s profession, or an issue about which you are passionate requires time, effort and heart.
That’s what leadership looks like in any profession. It means asking hard questions when something isn’t working. It means lifting others up as you climb. It means protecting the integrity of your field, even when it’s inconvenient. One of the most powerful things you can do in your career is to refuse to accept the status quo when you know it can be better. Because advocacy is not separate from leadership—it is leadership.
Global & Future Citizenship
But your influence is not limited to your profession, it extends far beyond it. The same courage it takes to advocate in your workplace is the courage required to advocate for your communities, your environment, and the future you want to help shape.
About a year ago our youngest son, a Pennsbury graduate and scholarship recipient, was working as a logistics specialist for the Department of Defense at the Ramstein Air Base in Kaiserslautern, Germany, when he decided he needed to do more. After 5 years of working with other civilians but also commissioned officers, he decided he wanted to be one of them.
Having completed boot camp in early May, he is now in the 6th week of 12 of Officer Candidate School. This was a personal decision to put him in a position to do more than he could as a civilian. While not a popular choice for some, and an emotional roller coaster for his father and me, this was a decision to pursue an opportunity where he felt he could make a difference. And needless to say we are quire proud of his decision.
Just as pharmacists are working to build a healthcare system that better serves patients, each of you has the capacity to influence systems that shape our world. You may be the person who introduces a more sustainable practice in your workplace. You may be the voice that ensures a policy is more equitable. You may be the one who asks, “Is there a better way?” and then help create it.
Your generation has inherited both immense challenges and extraordinary tools. You are more connected, more informed, and more capable of driving change than any generation before you. But with that comes responsibility. Being a citizen-leader means understanding that your success is connected to the well-being of others—and choosing to act accordingly. Advocacy, at this level, becomes not a moment, but a mindset, a lifelong commitment to making things better than you found them.
Conclusion
So as you leave here tonight, I want you to carry two things with you. First, a deep sense of pride in what you have accomplished. And second, a clear understanding of the responsibility that comes with it.
Because you are not stepping into this next chapter alone. You carry with you the belief of this community, the same community that, for nearly 70 years, has invested in students just like you and trusted that you would go on to do something meaningful with the opportunity.
There will be moments when the path ahead feels uncertain. There will be times when speaking up feels difficult. But those are the moments that define you. So speak anyway. Advocate to the best of your ability. Lead with passion and conviction.
Adapt when the world changes and it will. Stand firm in your values when it matters and it will. And always remember that leadership is not about having all the answers, it is about having the courage to ask the right questions and the integrity to act on them.
If you do that — if you make advocacy a way of life — you will not only succeed, but you will also create impact that lasts far beyond your own journey. And one day, someone else will be standing where you are, benefiting from the doors you helped open.
Congratulations, 2026 Class of Pennsbury Scholarship Foundation recipients. The future is waiting and it needs your voice.
