The University of Texas at Austin College of Pharmacy is proud to announce the recipients of the inaugural 2025 College of Pharmacy Awards. These awards honor individuals and organizations who have demonstrated exceptional partnership, leadership and innovation in advancing the college's mission across pharmacy practice, research and strategic engagement. Selected through internal nominations, each recipient exemplifies the college's values—particularly its commitment to opportunity and belonging—while contributing meaningfully to education, research and practice.
This year's awardees will be recognized at the Dose of Distinction celebration dinner on Friday, October 24, 2025, in Austin. We are pleased to recognize the following awardees for their outstanding contributions to the college and the field of pharmacy.
Debbie B. Garza, R.Ph.
Advancing College of Pharmacy Award
Debbie Garza is a business-savvy executive with a sharp strategic vision and lifelong passion for pharmacy. A skilled communicator, she excels at translating complex policy issues into clear, actionable insights—shaping perspectives and fostering public support for the pharmacy profession.
She brings extensive experience in government relations, public policy and pharmacy operations across both health care and retail settings. With deep, hands-on knowledge of legislative, regulatory and political processes, Debbie has played a leading role in drug payment policy, delivery system reform and expanding the role of pharmacists in patient care.
Most recently, she served as Chief Executive Officer of the Texas Pharmacy Association (TPA), where her leadership helped drive organizational growth and elevate the voice of pharmacy across the state. Prior to her time at TPA, Debbie built a distinguished 30-year career at Walgreens, culminating as Divisional Vice President of Government and Community Relations. In that role, she established and led the department, oversaw federal, state and local government affairs, shaped public policy positions, directed regulatory initiatives with boards of pharmacy nationwide and managed community relations. She also opened and managed Walgreens' Washington, D.C., office, serving as the company's chief lobbyist.
Debbie earned her B.S. in Pharmacy from The University of Texas at Austin. A dedicated mentor, she is passionate about guiding pharmacists and inspiring the next generation of pharmacy leaders.
CommUnityCare Health Centers
Advancing Pharmacy Practice Award
Central Texas Community Health Centers, doing business as CommUnityCare Health Centers, is a 501(c)(3) tax-exempt charitable organization operating a network of more than 30 Federally Qualified Health Centers (FQHCs) across Central Texas. The CommUnityCare mission is to strengthen the health and well-being of the communities it serves. Services are available to all patients—regardless of insurance status or household income.
Part of a nationwide network of over 1,400 community health centers, CommUnityCare Health Centers serves individuals who are uninsured or underinsured. In 2024 alone, the organization provided care to more than 143,000 individual patients across 500,000+ medical and dental appointments, making it one of the largest FQHC systems in Texas.
As an FQHC, CommUnityCare Health Centers is able to:
Receive enhanced reimbursement from Medicare and Medicaid, helping cover services for patients regardless of their ability to pay.
Participate in the 340B Drug Pricing Program, allowing prescription medications to be purchased at reduced prices—savings that are passed along directly to patients.
Key Leaders:
Dr. Nicholas Yagoda, Chief Executive Officer
Dr. Nicholas Yagoda brings over a decade of experience in clinical care and community health leadership. As CEO of CommUnityCare Health Centers, he is committed to advancing health equity through collaboration, innovation and accountability.
Since joining CommUnityCare Health Centers in 2014, Dr. Yagoda has worked to expand access to high-quality, compassionate care for underserved populations. A family medicine physician with expertise in HIV and addiction medicine, he continues to treat patients with complex medical and social needs. He played a key role in launching the region's first opioid use disorder treatment program and co-founded the Fast Track Cities/Getting to Zero Task Force to reduce new HIV infections in Travis County.
Under his leadership, the CommUnityCare organization has implemented the Epic electronic health record system, led a comprehensive COVID-19 response and developed initiatives to improve workforce engagement and clinical performance. The organization has been recognized as a USA Today National Top Workplace and ranks in the top 20% of FQHCs nationwide for clinical quality outcomes.
Dr. Yagoda also serves as an Assistant Professor of Population Health at The University of Texas at Austin's Dell Medical School. His work has appeared in Annals of Family Medicine, The Journal of Family Practice, and Nature. Originally from Brooklyn, New York, he earned his medical degree from Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons and completed his residency at the Lawrence Family Medicine Residency in Massachusetts.
Cristie Pellegrini, R.Ph., MHA, Chief Pharmacy Officer
Cristie Pellegrini serves as Chief Pharmacy Officer at CommUnityCare Health Centers. With over 20 years of experience in the health center setting, she is a recognized expert in leveraging the federal 340B Drug Pricing Program to maximize savings and improve patient access to medications.
In her role, Cristie oversees the pharmacy team, Patient Assistance Program and clinical pharmacist services, while also managing the medication supply chain across the entire CommUnityCare system. Her leadership ensures that pharmacy operations align with the organization's mission to provide equitable, affordable care to all patients.
AustinPx
Advancing Pharmacy Research Award
AustinPx was founded to help drug developers unlock the full potential of their candidates by overcoming common challenges such as poor bioavailability and accelerated timelines. With a client-centric approach, AustinPx simplifies the complexity of outsourcing by combining deep scientific expertise with responsive, solutions-driven service. Their team of formulation, analytical and manufacturing experts works collaboratively to solve problems and seize opportunities—doing more, faster.
As the inventors of KinetiSol™ Technology—a next-generation amorphous solid dispersion (ASD) platform—AustinPx is redefining how poorly soluble APIs are formulated. KinetiSol offers a smaller footprint, a broader design space and greener processing solutions, positioning AustinPx to lead disruption in the ASD space.
Through effective communication, flexible processes and scientific integrity, AustinPx is intentional about differentiating itself in the contract development and manufacturing organization (CDMO) industry. The company is driven by one goal: the success of its clients.
Key Leaders:
Elizabeth Hickman, Chief Executive Officer
Elizabeth Hickman brings more than 20 years of leadership experience in the pharmaceutical CDMO sector. Prior to her appointment as CEO in 2025, she served as Chief Business Officer at AustinPx, where she led business development, marketing, human resources and project management—helping launch and solidify the company's CDMO business model.
Her career began at Pharmatek Laboratories, where she led marketing for early-phase pharmaceutical development and manufacturing. She went on to hold business development roles at PharmaForm (now BioDuro-Sundia) and Pharmaceutics International Inc., before returning to Pharmatek to lead its sales, marketing and acquisition strategy. Following Pharmatek's acquisition by Catalent, she served as Director of Strategic Marketing and later Director of Business Development.
Ms. Hickman holds a B.A. in Microbiology from The University of Texas at Austin and an MBA from San Diego State University.
Dave Miller, Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer
Dr. Dave Miller brings over two decades of experience in pharmaceutical development, with a focus on enhancing the bioavailability of poorly soluble molecules. As CSO of AustinPx, he leads the pharmaceutics and analytical development teams and oversees the application of KinetiSol™ Technology.
Before joining AustinPx, Dr. Miller served as Vice President of Research and Development at DisperSol Technologies and as Senior Principal Scientist at Hoffmann-La Roche. He is a co-inventor of the pharmaceutical applications of KinetiSol and remains a key innovator in expanding the platform's reach.
Dr. Miller has advanced numerous drug candidates from early discovery through late-stage development and line extension. He has published over 40 peer-reviewed research articles, authored eight book chapters and co-edited all three editions of the textbook Formulating Poorly Water-Soluble Drugs. He also holds numerous granted and pending patents worldwide.
Dr. Miller earned his B.S. in Chemical Engineering and Ph.D. in Pharmaceutics from The University of Texas at Austin.
Congratulations to all of the 2025 College of Pharmacy Award recipients—thank you for your partnership, innovation and impact!