SPOKANE – The former chief of staff for the U.S. Food and Drug Administration – who is now president of the nonprofit Food and Drug Law Institute in Washington, D.C. – will be the keynote speaker on Thursday at the commencement ceremony of the WSU College of Pharmacy.
Susan C. Winckler also will meet earlier that day with interested university faculty on WSU’s health sciences campus in Spokane to talk about emerging trends in the way in which health care providers are paid for professional services.
The new trends are the result of the federal Affordable Care Act and are changing traditional payment systems such as fee-for-service.
Winckler is a pharmacist and a lawyer. As president and chief executive officer of the Food and Drug Law Institute, she heads an organization committed to providing a marketplace for discussing global food and drug law issues through conferences, publications and member interaction.
Her career highlights also include several executive positions at the American Pharmacists Association in Washington, D.C., including legal counsel, media spokesperson, senior lobbyist and vice president of policy and communications.
She also was a law partner with Michael O. Leavitt, a former U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary, and she remains affiliated with Leavitt Partners as a senior adviser.
Winckler’s selection as the commencement speaker for pharmacy is in keeping with the college’s practice to bring thought leaders to campus. Last year’s speaker, Rear Admiral Scott Giberson, was a deputy surgeon general and pharmacist.
Winckler will be available for interviews with interested news media on Thursday morning on the Spokane campus.