A national win for the UW School of Pharmacy—and a powerful example of what happens when entrepreneurship begins with community.
Congratulations to Caitlin Joy Lazaro, Jackson Gilmour, Julia Park, Brian Wong, Drake Geniec, and Zabiba Adem, who earned first place in the 2026 Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition. The UW team was selected as the national winner after presenting its plan at the NCPA Annual Convention in Kansas City.
“I’m incredibly proud of the work this team put into this project,” said faculty advisor, Lisa Garza, PharmD. “They immersed themselves not only in the business of community pharmacy, but in understanding what it means to serve a rural community and build around its needs. Seeing such talented students engage so deeply in community pharmacy is incredibly encouraging for the future of the profession.”
Special thanks as well to Josuah Tilus, owner of Lopez Island Pharmacy, whose mentorship, openness and firsthand perspective helped guide the students throughout the project.
The competition prepares student pharmacists to think like future pharmacy owners—developing business models that pair sound strategy with meaningful service to the communities that depend on them.
Congratulations to the entire team on an outstanding achievement—and on showing what the future of community pharmacy can look like.