The College Welcomes Suzanne Solven as our new Registrar & CEO
The College of Pharmacists of British Columbia is pleased to welcome Suzanne Solven as our new Registrar and Chief Executive Officer. Suzanne will be replacing Registrar Bob Nakagawa, who will be retiring in early 2022.
Suzanne proudly joins us from the unceded traditional territory of the Kwikwetlem First Nation, which lies within the shared territories of the Tsleil-Waututh, Katzie, Musqueam, Qayqayt, Squamish, and Sto’:lo Nations.
“I am honored to have been selected to lead the College as the new Registrar and CEO and would like to take this opportunity to thank Bob Nakagawa for his years of leadership at the College. I am passionate about ensuring equity for all patients and am committed to continuing the important work being done by the College to promote cultural safety and humility for Indigenous and BIPOC Communities within BC’s health system. I look forward to working with the Board, College staff, all the dedicated pharmacy professionals and the College’s many partners and stakeholders to ensure high quality person-centered care for British Columbians.”
- Suzanne Solven, Incoming Registrar & CEO, College of Pharmacists of British Columbia
With over 25 years of leadership experience across a broad range of organizations within BC’s health system, Suzanne is uniquely qualified to lead the College as its next Registrar and CEO. Prior to accepting the position of College Registrar, Suzanne worked as the Associate Vice President of Audit, Investigations and Quality Assurance at Pacific Blue Cross, where she led both the Fraud Investigation Branch and the Internal Audit Branch.
Before her time at Pacific Blue Cross, Suzanne served as the College’s Deputy Registrar for over 9 years. As Deputy Registrar, Suzanne led the development of the award-winning DrugSafeBC Initiative; changes to the ownership provisions in BC’s pharmacy legislation; successful undercover pharmacy investigations; and a successful collaboration with the US Food and Drug Administration.
Suzanne also spent 13 years working with the Government of British Columbia as both Executive Director and Senior Pharmacist of the BC PharmaCare program. In these roles, she led inter-professional drug policy initiatives such as evidence-based drug review processes, limited-use drug coverage, special authorization expert committees and standardized product listing agreements. She was also a provincial partner in the development of the Common Drug Review.
“There are few people better suited to lead the College than Suzanne Solven. I am positive that her years of experience as a leader at all levels of health care, along with her intimate knowledge of BC’s pharmacy legislation, will prove an indispensable asset as we continue to guide the College into the future of pharmacy practice.”
- Steven Hopp, Board Chair, College of Pharmacists of British Columbia
Suzanne is a current member of the Alumni UBC Advisory Council and UBC Therapeutics Initiative Oversight committee, past member of the College of Physicians and Surgeons of BC Prescription Review Panel, past Co-Chair of the National Pharmaceuticals Strategy, and past chair of the Advisory Committee on Pharmaceuticals, Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health.
Suzanne’s tenure as Registrar and Chief Executive Officer of the College of Pharmacists of British Columbia will begin on January 31, 2022.