Convene: HDA's Professional Development Program
Take on exciting opportunities and grow your career with Convene's industry-focused events, resources and programs for professional development.
Advancing Careers. Making Meaningful Connections.
Convene, HDA’s professional development program, brings together the industry’s top supply chain executives and future leaders alike to inspire growth and share insights for developing a distribution-sector career.
Featuring live and virtual events throughout the year, the program includes:
- Webinars highlighting such topics as communication styles, mentoring and leadership are provided periodically, often hosted free of charge to HDA members;
- The HDA Mentoring Program, which has established professional relationships for HDA-member participants at all stages of their careers;
- In-person, career development sessions held conveniently during HDA member events, including the Distribution Management Conference and Business and Leadership Conference;
- The Emerging Leaders Program is specially crafted to engage, inspire and grow the future leaders of the healthcare distribution sector and prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow;
- The industry-wide Employee Resource Network provides networking, skill sharing, career development and more for all interested employees of HDA’s member companies, including historically underrepresented groups and their allies; and,
- The Karen J. Ribler Scholarship program, providing financial assistance to supply chain professionals pursuing any level of degree or professional certification.
Sponsors
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Have an idea for a program or need further information? Contact Lisa Kanfer, Vice President, Membership and Development.
Developing Distribution Industry Leaders at Any Career Stage
Since 2014, the HDA Mentoring Program has successfully established and developed professional growth for members at all stages of their careers. Open to all HDA members, this program pairs distributors with manufacturers or third-party service provider professionals to avoid conflicts of interest. Mentors may guide mentees through specific projects or share general advice on navigating through a career in the pharmaceutical supply chain, resulting in the kind of real-world experiences that hone the skills needed for success.
Become a Mentor or Find a Mentor
The level of participation and type of relationship is up to you. Some participants may want to focus on a specific project or aspect of their current jobs; others may want guidance on navigating the industry or preparing for a new role or promotion. Accordingly, some mentor/mentee relationships will be long term and others will be short term; some partnerships will be structured, and others will be more fluid. One size does not fit all.
Participants must be HDA members and complete a brief questionnaire to assist in the matching process. The results of the survey will help pair you with a mentor or mentee that shares similar goals and objectives for participating in the program.
For more information, contact Anne Nevel, Vice President, Education.
Paving the Way for Future Healthcare Distribution Leaders
The Emerging Leaders Program is specially crafted to engage, inspire and cultivate the future leaders of the health delivery sector and prepare them for the challenges of tomorrow.
Program participants enjoy access to exclusive events, valuable real-world experience and up-to-the-minute industry insights. Joining this program offers the opportunity to more powerfully leverage career-building tools that will enhance your professional life and benefit the company you represent.
Benefits include:
- Event registration discounts
- Distribution Management Conference and Expo reception with executive members
- Professional development educational sessions specifically designed for emerging leaders
- Unique opportunities to connect with the Industry Relations Council (IRC)
- Community engagement
- Scholarship opportunities
- Mentoring
- Online resources
- Networking events
Join Emerging Leaders Program
To be eligible for the program, applicants must: Be 39 years old or younger; work for a company with an active HDA membership; receive support from the applicant’s supervisor; and submit a completed application form, with answers typed or printed clearly.
Applications are accepted on a rolling basis. The completed application should be submitted to Subrina Ghorashi, Director, Education, HDA.
Healthcare Distribution Alliance
Attn: Subrina Ghorashi
1275 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Suite 600
Washington, DC 20004
Advancing Leaders and Generating Meaningful Opportunities for All
HDA’s employee resource network (ERN) provides unique opportunities for member company employees with shared interests or experiences to learn from each other, advocate for themselves, expand their career goals, take on leadership opportunities and strengthen workplace cultures across the pharmaceutical distribution sector.
Formerly known as the industry-wide employee resource groups, ERN unites all participants from the Asian American and Pacific Islander (APEN), Black and African American (BAEN), Hispanic and Latin (HLEN) and Women’s Employee Networks (WEN) to foster more collaboration and networking. ERN also encourages individuals from additional communities to participate to expand the scope of support for HDA members’ unique personal and professional experiences and achieve a more inclusive healthcare distribution sector.
The goals of ERN include:
- Helping employees connect with others who share similar experiences, challenges, interests and more;
- Tackling industry issues and finding creative solutions to bring about positive change to workforce culture and business operations;
- Providing professional development and networking opportunities to promote growth at all career levels; and,
- Seeking opportunities to network with the HDA Board of Directors and other notable industry leadership to share innovative ideas.
ERN meets every six weeks via Teams to connect with peers and collaborate on initiatives. Members can join ERN on a rolling basis. Please complete the interest form to be contacted about upcoming meetings.
HDA is hosting in the inaugural ERN Summit on August 20–21, 2025, at Cencora's headquarters in Conshocken, Pa. Current ERN participants, professionals working in human resources or others who are interested in industry-focused professional development are encouraged to attend for networking, leadership workshops, industry education and more.
Fostering Knowledge Through Educational Opportunities
As part of its mission to support innovation and education of pharmacy and supply chain professionals, the HDA Research Foundation, in conjunction with HDA’s professional development program, Convene, is cultivating the next generation of supply chain leaders. The Karen J. Ribler Scholarship — renamed in honor of the Foundation’s former COO — is available annually to HDA distributor and manufacturer members seeking any level of degree or professional certification.
Karen Ribler, who led the Foundation for nearly a decade, was a fierce advocate for not only the Foundation, but also academic pursuit and leadership development. With the goal of fostering knowledge and leadership through educational and professional development opportunities, the Foundation is proud to carry on her legacy by developing the future growth of HDA-member professionals and their companies — and by extension, enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of the pharmaceutical supply chain.
The 2025 application period is open through August 1. Learn more about the program and submit applications below.
For more information, contact Rachel Newman, Director, Foundation.
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HDA Contacts
Ann Bittman, Executive Vice President and COO
Subrina Ghorashi, Director, Education
Lisa Kanfer, Vice President, Membership and Development
Anne Nevel, Vice President, Education
Rachel Newman, Director, Foundation
Not a member? Join today.