Lisa Tonrey, MHA, RPh, PhC, FAPhA, CAPT, USPHS

Lisa Tonrey, MHA, RPh, PhC, FAPhA, CAPT, USPHS (ret.) is being recognized by Continental Who’s Who as a Pinnacle Professional in the field of Public Health as a Pharmacist Consultant and Healthcare and Public Health Advisor at Tonrey Consulting Group, LLC.

Ms. Tonrey has been operating a private consulting group for past five years. She provides public health, healthcare, and pharmacy consulting services with an emphasis on strategic development, population, and health informatics in her areas of expertise: health care administration, public health and prevention, emergency response, quality improvement, operations management, clinical and pharmaceutical care delivery, and consultation. She is a highly experienced public health professional, backed by thirty-nine years of experience. Although retired, she continues serving for the Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (USAID/OFDA) for the Preparedness, Strategic Planning, and Mitigation section as a pharmacist and a pharmaceutical and medical commodities (PMC) technical advisor. Assisting in complex humanitarian crises, she analyzes grant proposals, provides risk reduction strategies, monitors OFDA funded healthcare activities, liaises with involved international organizations, coordinates actual USG emergency technical responses, and more.

For twenty-two years, Ms. Tonrey served on active duty as a commissioned officer of the U.S. Public Health Service, employed in federal positions for the U.S Army, USPHS Bureau of Medical Services, HHS, Health Resources and Services AdministrationBureau of Primary Healthcare, Indian Health Service, U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), and Office of Foreign Disaster Assistance (OFDA); where she served as a pharmacist and technical advisor. Her work focused on improving the health of underserved and vulnerable populations as a clinical pharmacist, health administrator, and public health advisor. The benefits of her career have been too numerous to count, using her talents to be a blessing to others.

Ms. Tonrey describes herself as a “big picture person”. Constantly evolving, her career allowed her to pursue her areas of interest, such as improving the health of underserved and vulnerable populations. Her greatest professional inspiration was Admiral Robert Harry, who served forty-two years as a healthcare professional and worked with Native American communities. She advises new professionals to, “Be open to opportunities to serve. It will open doors, spark your interest into areas that you may not have been aware of, and help you grow as a person and as a healthcare professional.”

Inspired by her summer volunteer work at a hospital, Ms. Tonrey was guided towards a degree in pharmacy, earning an undergraduate degree from Rutgers College of Pharmacy in 1980. Her pharmaceutical career introduced her to population health, influencing her interest in improving health outcomes. She then attended Chapman University, where she received a Master of Public Health (MPH) in 1995. She completed a fellowship at the Pharmacist Executive Management Program at the Wharton School and the Leonard Davis Institute of Health Economics at the University of Pennsylvania in 2001.

A respected voice in her areas of expertise, Ms. Tonrey is a fellow and past president of the American Pharmacists Association (APhA). While president, she adopted a public health presidential initiative, advancing the agenda for pharmacists to provide immunizations in the U.S. She recently completed two terms on the board of the Arizona Pharmacy Association, having served as treasurer and board member.

In light of a lifetime of accomplishments, Ms. Tonrey has received numerous awards and honors. Such as the Best in Medicine by the American Health Council in 2019, Hall of Fame by the Arizona Pharmacy Association in 2019, cover feature on the 2019 and 2016 issue of Pharmacy Times, Pinnacle Award for the Individual Career Achievement by APhA Foundation in 2018, Pharmacist of the Year by Next-Generation Pharmacist in 2016, and Lifetime Leader by Next-Generation Pharmacist in 2016. The USPHS has awarded her numerous corps awards, including the Outstanding Service Medal in 2000, Field Medical Readiness Badge in 2008, and Commendation Medal in 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2007. In addition to her recognitions, she is a frequent invitee to speak nationally.

Outside of work, Ms. Tonrey likes cooking, entertaining, traveling, designing jewelry, and spending time with family and friends. She is a part of a large family of siblings, children, grandchildren, nieces, and nephews. In the future, she will continue learning and exploring because she enjoys challenging herself and looking for business opportunities and personal growth.