African American Women in Pharmacy Firsts

1974

Mary Munson Runge

the first African American female to serve as President of the California Pharmacists Association.

1975

Marie L. Best

the first African American woman to serve as Interim Dean of a College of Pharmacy when she was appointed to the position at Howard University College of Pharmacy.

1976

Debra Gray

among the first African American females to complete a pharmacy residency in the U.S. She completed her residency at the University of Kentucky Medical Center.

1979

Bridget Ayeni

the first known African American female to graduate from the Idaho State University College of Pharmacy.

1979

Mary Munson Runge

first woman and African American, to be elected President and Chair of the Board of Directors, in the 126-year history of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA).

1979

Miriam Mobley Smith

first African American female pharmacy resident at the Sinai Hospital of Detroit.

1979

Heidi Anderson

was the first female pharmacist to serve as Executive Director of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association.

1980

Rosalyn Cain King

the first African American female pharmacist to serve as consultant to the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).

1985

Mary Munson Runge

among the first African American female pharmacists to serve on a state board of pharmacy when she was elected to the California Board of Pharmacy.

1985

Harriett O. Ellis

among the first African American female pharmacists to serve on a state board of pharmacy when she was elected to the New York State Board of Pharmacy.

1985

Diane Tyrance

among the first African American female pharmacists to serve on a state board of pharmacy when she was elected to the Washington District of Columbia Board of Pharmacy.

1986

Regina Jollivette Frazier

first African American female pharmacist, elected President of the Links, Inc. and its Foundation.

1987

Regina Jollivette Frazier

first African American female pharmacist, recognized by Ebony Magazine as one of the 100 Most Influential Black Americans, an honor bestowed upon her for two years in a row (1987, 1988).

1987

Norma Jenkins Stewart

among the first African American female pharmacists to serve as Chief of the District of Columbia Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Control Division.