2020 White Coat Speaker Erica Hanesworth

Roby Hill
August 12, 2020
Erica Hanesworth, WC

Erica Hanesworth ’97 ’99, a national figure in the pharmacy landscape, will speak at the MUSC College of Pharmacy’s 2020 White Coat Ceremony on August 14 at the Trident Technical College Conference Center.

Hanesworth, immediate past president of the National Pharmaceutical Association, and Philip Hall, dean of the College, will be the only two people on stage during the ceremony as the members of the entering Class of 2024 observe strict safety measures in the seats, including mandatory masks and six-foot social distancing separation. The 2:30 p.m. event is for the entering class, faculty, and staff only but it will be live steamed on the MUSC College of Pharmacy YouTube channel for families and friends to attend virtually.

“These students are starting their pharmacy careers under some pretty challenging circumstances,” Hall said. “We’re delighted to have someone of Dr. Hanesworth’s stature and accomplishments to inspire them to meet those challenges. She is a great role model of what it is possible to achieve.”

Hanesworth is a clinical pharmacist with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. She received her bachelor of science (1997) and doctor of pharmacy (1999) from the MUSC of Pharmacy where she also holds a clinical appointment of clinical assistant professor. Hanesworth completed a residency in Pharmacy Practice with an emphasis in Primary Care at the Ralph H. Johnson VA Medical Center in June 2000. Her major areas of interests include diabetes, hypertension and hyperlipidemia pharmacotherapy. She is also a staff pharmacist at the Charleston Center Department of Alcohol and Drugs of Abuse.

A national figure in the pharmacy profession, she has served as president of the National Pharmaceutical Association (NPhA), for which she is currently serving as immediate past president. She has also served the NPhA as Zone II director (for which she won the Wendell T. Hill Award for Outstanding Zone Director in 2008 and 2011), exhibits coordinator, and president-elect.

Hanesworth is a mentor for pharmacy students of the Student National Pharmaceutical Association and has served as a judge in the Clinical Skills Patient Counseling Competition for several years. She has also served as mentor for the Community Incentive for Diversity Program. This year, she agreed to serve the MUSC College of Pharmacy as a founding member of the Pharmacist Alumni Action Network (PAAN), which was formed to help the College ensure that it is a safe space where every member feels valued and to identify tools for MUSC pharmacy family members to be agents of change in their communities.

In addition, she has served Delta Sigma Theta Sorority in several leadership roles, including as financial secretary of the chapter’s foundation, Ladies Enriching the Community, Inc. She is chair for the Physical and Mental Health Committee for the Charleston Chapter of Jack and Jill of America, Inc., and has served on various ministries and auxiliaries of her church.

She enjoys reading, exercising, traveling and spending time with family and friends. She resides in Charleston, SC, with her husband (Russell) and son (JohnRoss).