It is a great honor and privilege to serve as the Supreme Directorum of Alpha Zeta Omega Pharmaceutical Fraternity for the 2026–2027 fraternal year. I am deeply grateful to have been elected and entrusted with the responsibility of leading a fraternity that has meant so much to me throughout the years. 

I do have some high expectations for my administration this coming year, but I’m confident in our ability to meet these goals through strong collaboration, accountability, and a shared commitment to this fraternity’s continued success. 

To start off, I’m happy to report we have 10 undergraduate members who have never been involved with Supreme before that will be serving on committees this upcoming year for the very first time! The undergraduates are the future of this fraternity, so it’s encouraging to see their growing interest in getting involved. 

As for my E-Board, I’ve tasked our 1st Sub Directorum Nicole Cammarota with continuing the implementation of an effective communications schedule to ensure our messaging remains organized, timely, and comprehensive across preferred platforms. She will serve as the chair of the newly revamped Communications & Outreach Committee, which will absorb the separate Electronic Communications Committee we’ve utilized the past few years and ultimately encompass all forms of communication. After a thoughtful and engaging discussion at our fraternity meeting in Houston, I’m hopeful that bringing together all of our communication efforts under one umbrella should hopefully create a more organized, consistent, and engaging experience for our members. I look forward to seeing the committee develop new and innovative approaches to strengthen frater communications and engagement.

Nicole Defeo has an important job as 2nd Sub Directorum to ensure we are retaining our alumni, new graduates, and undergraduates. As Chair of the Retention Committee, she will oversee the implementation of feedback and initiatives gathered from the end-of-year survey distributed in May, with the goal of strengthening engagement and further expanding our active membership. These efforts will be in tandem with our new AZO Direct team, with Wilmer Gonzalez moving up the ranks and Jess Askew stepping into the AZO Direct-Elect role. This two-person position was established last year to create a more seamless year-to-year transition and allow the Director-Elect to begin outreach to chapters and graduating fraters prior to their transition to alumni status, with the goal of promoting 100% retention.
As we know, Darius Papulis will be starting his 2-year term as Supreme Signare, with Haley Guarriello serving as Associate Signare. I look forward to seeing them both excel in these roles and thrive in the responsibilities ahead.

Jace Swingle will remain as Supreme Excheque, continuing his dedicated work to ensure a smooth and efficient transition between banking processes. He will continue working alongside PSD John Anciano, who will remain as Director of Financial Affairs and Budgeting Committee Chair, as well as PSD Adam Schweitzer who will chair the Auditing Committee. I am also bringing back the old title of Webmaster, which Jace will additionally take on to continue all of the great work he’s done with the website and on the old Electronic Communications Committee.

I’m excited to work with Paige Willms as she takes on a greater responsibilities on the E-Board and steps into the role of Bellarum. I’m also looking forward to working with Nick You, Anthony Doyle, and Giules Paoletta as our new Undergraduate Representatives. I’m confident they will help our undergraduates gain the fullest possible value from Supreme, while continuing to strengthen their overall experience and increase participation in interchapter events and conventions.

In addition to the E-Board, I’ve asked PSD Adam Schweitzer to serve as my Deputy this year because I needed someone who wasn't afraid to challenge me when necessary. Someone with experience. Someone I trust. And someone capable of occasionally reminding me that maybe not every idea I have is a good one. So good luck to Adam!

Casey Hyunh will be responsible for capturing and documenting all the PFBL at conventions and events as Historian, while Ali Burdick will take on Good & Welfare, making sure to keep us informed of important milestones and updates across our membership. Both Casey and Ali will also serve on the Communications & Outreach Committee, helping to amplify fraternal news across our social media platforms. 

Felicia Wang will take over as our new E.G Sless Scholarship Chair. Kyle Grenier will serve as the Sidney R. Rome Newspaper Cup Chair.

Our new AZOan Editors, Lauren Neese and Zach Galietta, have the important responsibility of not only producing our annual publication, but doing so while also transitioning to a new platform for the first time in several years. While the initial adjustment may be a bit laborious, I’m hopeful that moving to a more cloud-based system will support shared editing, improve collaboration, and allow for real-time workflow moving forward. I look forward to seeing the exceptional publication I know the two of them will produce by the end of the year.

With their wealth of knowledge regarding all things AZO, PSDs Jon McLachlan and Bruce Strell have agreed to remain our Directors of Fraternal Affairs, while Morgan McAuliffe and PSD Tiffany Janajreh will serve as our Fraternal Mentorship Chairs. 

Matthew “Bucky” Buchfellner and Bailey Conkey will remain our Directors of Development for the coming year, working in conjunction with our Recruitment Committee which will be chaired by Kayla Barca. They will be responsible for building on the online education process developed during this past year’s Beta Chapter reactivation and adapting it to support new member classes within distance learning programs across several of our undergraduate chapters.

Bucky will also be chairing our Fundraising Committee who will be tasked with finding creative ways to bring in money to the fraternity while helping out Casey who will continue to run our successful convention raffles. 

I have decided to continue our philanthropy efforts in support of The Lustgarten Foundation. With so many fraters, family members, and friends impacted by pancreatic cancer, I feel it’s only fitting to continue this 11-year-long partnership. I look forward to seeing the ideas and initiatives developed by Philanthropy Committee Chair Taylor Botelho and her committee in support of this important cause.

In addition to the AZO Direct role, Wilmer will also be serving as our DEI Committee Chair, where he and his team will continue to promote and support the growth of diversity within AZO and the healthcare field, while also identifying and presenting opportunities to make AZO more inclusive.

Alex Torres will leverage her real-world career experience to promote and advance the profession of pharmacy in her role as Advocacy Committee Chair, while Professional Mentorship Chairs Liz Shulman and Joanna McCormack will continue to develop and implement professional development programs and initiatives designed to support fraters in their career growth and advancement.

Jess Filippoli will once again lead the CE Committee, continuing the framework established this past year to deliver high-quality, relevant continuing education programs throughout the year. The collaboration between practicing pharmacists and undergraduate members demonstrated strong engagement this past year, creating meaningful mentorship opportunities while allowing students to gain hands-on experience in professional education and presentation. With much of the committee returning, I am optimistic that we can meet or exceed our goal of 20 total CE credits by year’s end.
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Any other roles I may have missed will plan to remain with their current leadership.
Our elected and appointed officers and committees have a great deal to accomplish this year, but I am confident in their abilities. Their passion, dedication, and commitment to doing whatever it takes will help ensure that Alpha Zeta Omega continues to succeed and thrive.

Cheers to a successful year!
Kelly Garrity 
Supreme Directorum