Celebrating a true leader

July 8, 2025
Former ACP registrar Greg Eberhart presented with Honorary Life Membership.

If you’re a pharmacist or a pharmacy technician, there is a good chance you’ll find Greg Eberhart’s signature on your registration certificate. Greg retired in December 2024 after 35 years as registrar of the Alberta Pharmaceutical Association (APhA, 1990-1999) and the Alberta College of Pharmacy (ACP, 2000-2024).

On June 18, 2025, Greg was presented with Honorary Life Membership at ACP’s Celebration of Leadership. Appointment as an Honorary Life Member is presented to a regulated member or former regulated member who, in the opinion of Council, has rendered distinguished service to the pharmacist and pharmacy technician professions. After 35 years at the helm of ACP, there is no question that Greg’s lasting impact on Alberta’s pharmacy landscape more than earned this recognition.

Greg’s passion for leadership predates his pharmacy career—even in his youth, Greg found ways to have an impact and make a difference.

“Throughout my teenage years, leadership was something I was interested and involved in, whether it be through school, athletics, or community initiatives,” he said.

In 1979, Greg started his pharmacy career when he graduated from the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences. He then started practising in community pharmacy, but he did not see the leadership potential in his new profession right away.

“When I began practising as a pharmacist, my earliest employment opportunities were not overly inspiring, so I did not immediately see the leadership potential in pharmacy,” said Greg.

Then, things changed.

“In the mid-1980s, there was debate in Alberta about pharmacy ownership and the role of pharmacists in owning pharmacies,” said Greg. “This was an important issue and it was the first time I engaged in provincial advocacy related to pharmacy.”

Greg always believed that the only way to make a real difference was to become actively involved in the discussion.

“As I reflected on that experience, I felt that I had a responsibility to get involved and contribute to my profession. With that in mind, I sought election to the APhA Council,” he said.

Greg served as a member of Council for APhA for the next five years, until 1990, when there was a career opportunity that would present a real chance to make a difference: the registrar of APhA.  

“When the position for the APhA registrar came up, I mused about applying but really doubted myself,” said Greg. “Eventually, my wife, Kathie, pushed me. She asked me what I had to lose in applying and encouraged me to apply and let other leaders determine whether I was the best one for the role.”

Greg’s leadership potential was recognized and he got the job.

For the next 35 years, Greg dedicated his professional life to advancing pharmacy practice and working towards the best pharmacy care possible for Albertans. Looking back at the milestones and the accomplishments over the course of Greg’s tenure, it is clear that there are few who have left a greater impact in the world of pharmacy.

In the 1990s, Greg was instrumental in developing a role statement for pharmacists that became part of the Health Professions Act proclaimed in 1999.

In 2000, Greg led the transition that split the APhA into two organizations: ACP (the regulator) and the Alberta Pharmacists’ Association (the advocate). This move was ahead of the times, recognizing that there were two distinct roles for a regulator and an association—to protect the public and to represent the profession, respectively.

In 2007, Greg was a key contributor to the development of the Pharmacist Profession Regulation and the Pharmacy and Drug Regulation, which opened the door for pharmacists to prescribe medications and administer drugs by injection. This expanded scope of practice for pharmacists not only made Alberta a leader nationally, but globally. More importantly, it improved access for healthcare services for Albertans. Today, more than 4,000 pharmacists have their additional prescribing authorization, and more than 5,000 are authorized to administer drugs by injection.

“Changing the scope of practice for pharmacists and empowering them to make clinical decisions meant that, for the first time in Alberta and in many other parts of the world, pharmacists were recognized as being able to make clinical decisions as compared to simply identifying problems and referring patients to physicians,” said Greg.

Greg also led the way for pharmacy technicians to become regulated health professionals in Alberta in 2011 and he worked to ensure that not only are pharmacy technicians incorporated into pharmacy teams in both institutions and community pharmacies but empowered to practise to their full scope and pursue leadership opportunities.

More recently, under Greg’s leadership, ACP developed new standards which moved the emphasis from dispensing drugs to providing patient care, with person-centredness at the core of all standards.

These momentous achievements all centre on empowering pharmacy technicians and pharmacists to practise to their full scopes and contribute meaningfully to Alberta’s healthcare system with a person-centred approach. 

“I think what I’m most proud of is that I’ve been able to contribute to programs, policies, and initiatives that have created new opportunities for pharmacists and pharmacy technicians,” said Greg. “In creating those opportunities, we’ve created new leaders. We’ve created new hope. We’ve created new possibilities for the professions. These changes create new possibilities for the patients we serve too.”

Fostering leadership and excellence in the pharmacy professions has been a passion that has defined Greg’s career. He encourages pharmacists and pharmacy technicians to consider how they too can become leaders and change makers.

“Today we live in a complex world and there are so many opportunities to engage in a meaningful way if you truly want to make a difference. We are in a people profession and there is exhaustive opportunity to provide meaning and value to individuals and to the health system.” said Greg. “Don’t fall into the trap of doubting yourself—put your best foot forward and opportunities will present themselves.”

Greg knows from firsthand experience that courage and hard work can lead to monumental change.  

“Sometimes change will not occur unless you have the courage to take on the change yourself,” he said. “Understand yourself, understand your dreams, and be prepared to take action because only you can create the change that you desire.”

Honorary Life Membership is one of the many accolades Greg has received in recognition of his lifelong dedication to supporting and improving pharmacy care for Albertans. Just a few months ago, Greg was presented with the King Charles the third Coronation Medal, which is awarded to those who have made a significant contribution to Canada, their communities, or fellow citizens.

The pharmacy professions and the broader healthcare landscape will continue to grow, change, and evolve, but the legacy of Greg’s leadership and his indelible impact on ACP, pharmacy practice, and the health and well-being of patients across Alberta will endure.