HBA Atlanta: Meet the 2023 Chapter Board of Directors
We’re pleased to introduce you to the members of the 2023 HBA Atlanta Chapter Board of Directors!
Coline Samat
Chapter Board Position: President
Coline is currently a Director of Partnering at Roche. Previously, she spent over ten years at IQVIA leading business development and strategic relationship management activities for a number of key pharmaceutical accounts specializing in R&D clinical trial development. Coline has also held a number of positions in business operations with a commercial focus as well as sales leadership management responsibilities. Driven by a passion to help patients live healthier lives, she’s committed to improving gender parity and advancing health equity, diversity, and sustainability initiatives. Coline has been a volunteer with the HBA for the last five years, previously supporting the HBA Southeast region as the Director of the Mentoring program and President of Member of Value Offerings. She graduated Summa Cum Laude with a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of North Carolina Wilmington and was valedictorian of her graduating class with a Bachelor of Science in International Business from Kedge Business School in Marseille, France. Outside of work, she enjoys reading, traveling, hiking, and spending time with friends and family.
Ami Kumiga
Chapter Board Position: Vice President
Ami is an experienced clinical project manager with experience at two large CROs, managing teams of functional leads across global clinical trials. Ami has managed multiple studies in rare diseases, orphan drug disease, and immunology in phases I, II/III, and III. She has also worked previously in marketing project management in healthcare logistics and began her career in medical device and pharmaceutical sales. Ami has been a volunteer with the HBA since 2019 and has been an HBA Atlanta Board of Directors member since January 2020. She previously served as Operations Director and Director at Large, Membership and Volunteer Engagement.
Maria Yi
Chapter Board Position: Director at Large, Membership and Volunteer Engagement
Maria is the Healthcare Specialty Supervisor in Georgia for Walgreens. She oversees seven Walgreens Specialty locations. She is responsible for operations, compliance, patient care, and team member engagement. Her team provides specialized pharmacy care to a number of patient populations, including those with chronic inflammatory diseases, organ transplants, oncology/hematology concerns, nephrology issues, and infectious diseases. She is also responsible for the development of relationships with a number of on-site and off-site providers across the entire Southeast region. Maria attended the Georgia Institute of Technology and received her Doctorate of Pharmacy from Auburn University’s Harrison School of Pharmacy (Auburn, AL). Post-graduation, Maria became a Certified Diabetes Educators (CDCES), establishing a desire to care for patients with diabetes. Maria is bilingual, speaking English and Korean. In her free time, Maria enjoys traveling, eating, and spending time with her family and friends.
Alexa Ceballos
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Membership and Volunteer Engagement
Alexa is a patient-centric marketer, passionate about providing access and affordability solutions to diverse populations, and experienced in building inclusive and high-performing project teams. In her current role at Pfizer, she’s responsible for developing messaging and market strategy for molecules across the development pipeline.
Brittany Way
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Membership and Volunteer Engagement
Brittany has always had a passion for working in healthcare, dating back to her attendance at a health science/engineering magnet high school in Augusta, Ga. She later moved to the surrounding-Atlanta area in 2010 where she previously worked as a pharmacy technician for CVS and Moyes Pharmacy, followed by the initiation of my Clinical Research career in 2015 as a Research Data Entry Coordinator/Study Coordinator at Emory’s Winship Cancer Institute. In 2019, she then shifted roles within the research industry and became a CRA with IQVIA, followed by a career with Icon PLC CRO. She subsequently accepted a position with Johnson & Johnson (Janssen R&D) as a Senior Site Manager, which is her current place of employment. Her career is based in oncology, working with both solid tumor oncology and Heme. Outside of work, she enjoys spending time with her three babies and husband. She looks forward to working with our remarkable HBA Atlanta Chapter as part of the engagement committee and hopes to develop many fruitful relationships with the lovely women of the chapter.
Jamila Simoné Pitts
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Membership and Volunteer Engagement
Jamila Simoné Pitts has over nine years of clinical research experience, with her foundation in NIH-funded research assistantships while attending Agnes Scott College, where she earned her Bachelor of Science in Neuroscience with a concentration in Human Rights. After graduation, she became an award-winning clinical research coordinator in academic hospitals such as Vanderbilt University and Emory University. Thereafter, she served as a primary Clinical Research Associate for ICON, Plc, and is currently serving as a Site Manager at Johnson & Johnson. Jamila spends much of her time as an advocate for her brother who has non-verbal autism and schizophrenia. The goal of facilitating a sense of well-being and the right to a fulfilled life for her brother and those like him has always been at the forefront of her efforts in her career. From that, she found a love for clinical research and took pride in being a proponent for healthcare access, patient safety, advocacy, and diversity representation. In the same way, she looks forward to taking on this position with the HBA to contribute to creating and nurturing radical access for others to empower themselves and others, engage in ways that build their communities, and network for their personal betterment. In her free time, Jamila is a content creator and career mentor on LinkedIn, as well as a financial educator and tax preparer furthering her legacy of social justice through access to resources needed to thrive.
Shelby Turnage
Chapter Board Position: Director at Large, Marketing and Communications
Shelby Turnage is a healthcare industry expert with experience in pharmaceuticals, medical devices, digital health, and healthcare information technology. She currently works as the Associate Director, HCP Strategic Development at Healthgrades. Previously she worked at Connection, where she led the healthcare as the Industry Marketing Manager for the healthcare business vertical at Connection, where she leads the healthcare marketing strategy across the enterprise, business solutions, and public sector business segments. Shelby’s dedication to improving patient access and affordability is reflected in her previous experience in pharmaceutical consulting for a 503B outsourcing facility, where she worked with healthcare providers to develop formularies of customized medications available for dispensing at the point of care. Before that, she was a Pharmaceutical Sales Representative for Eli Lilly’s Diabetes Business Unit. Shelby earned a B.S.B.A. in Healthcare Marketing and a Certificate in Professional Selling as a Luckyday Citizenship Scholar from the University of Southern Mississippi. Currently, Shelby is pursuing an M.S. in Pharmacy and an MBA with a Certificate in Pharmaceutical Regulation from the University of Florida College of Pharmacy.
Charmaine Anthony
Chapter Board Position: Committee member, Marketing and Communications
Charmaine (RN, MSN, PNP-BC) currently works for Novartis Pharmaceuticals. Prior to her current role, Charmaine started her career in the pharmaceutical industry as a Hematology Nurse Educator with Novartis/Quintiles in 2014. Charmaine also worked at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta (CHOA) as a Nurse Practitioner specializing in Sickle Cell Disease. She also worked as an Adjunct Clinical Professor at Georgia State University in the Nursing Department.
Smruti Dave
Chapter Board Position: Director at Large, Programming
Smruti is a learning and development professional with extensive experience in the pharmaceutical industry, both in human and animal health organizations. Smruti is currently leading the Boehringer-Ingelheim Animal Health Commercial Training Team based out of Duluth, GA. She is responsible for the learning and development of the entire U.S. Animal Health Commercial Team in all areas including, but not limited to, leadership development, soft skills, selling skills, account management, systems, business acumen, and product training. Her passion is the development of individuals for the achievement of their personal and professional growth. In her role, she leads a team focused on delivering value to stakeholders based on collaboration, focused on outcomes, and challenging the status quo. She also is a co-lead for the Women’s Leadership Business Resource Group at Boehringer-Ingelheim. Smruti started her career in the human pharma space in CA after graduating from San Jose State. She has moved several times across the country in her various sales, leadership, and learning and development roles. Smruti appreciates time for herself as well as time with friends and family. Some of Smruti’s hobbies include working out, reading, hiking, and enjoying finer foods and wine.
Alexandria Pearson
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Programming
Alexandria has enjoyed working in the pharmaceutical industry for 11 years. She currently specializes in Validation and is responsible for qualifying new instrumentation and computer systems in the laboratory. She enjoys learning about new technology and software, mentoring, and participating in Operational Excellence initiatives.
Hannah Redd
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Programming
Hannah is a Manager in EY’s Business Consulting practice. She brings more than six years of management consulting experience focusing on life sciences clients in commercial operations areas. She is specialized in leading program and project management, supporting complex systems alignment, and leading multi-disciplinary workstreams across complex regulatory environments across the globe.
Lawanda Coleman
Chapter Board Position: Committee Member, Programming
Lawanda is an Advocate for Healthcare with over 25 years of experience in the health and wellness industry. She has held roles in Procurement, Implementation and most recently in Customer Engagement. In her current role, as a Senior Account Manager with Cardinal Health, she oversees distribution and medical product customers as it relates to supply chain management. Lawanda is passionate about advancement opportunities for women in the pharmaceutical and healthcare industries. She is also an advocate of all things health, fitness, and wellness. She is an avid runner, who has run over 100 half marathons and eight full marathons. She served as an Ambassador for Black Girls Run and a volunteer for Girls on the Run. In her spare time, she can be found training for half marathons or spending time with her husband and Pitbull puppy, Fresco. Lawanda is new to the HBA community and is looking forward to engaging as a mentor in soft skills, self-development, and program management.