THE NEWEST STRAINS OF THE VIRUS ARE CAUSING A SURGE THIS SEASON, AND EXPERTS SAY IT’S IMPORTANT TO GET IMMUNIZED, ESPECIALLY IF YOU’RE AGE 65 OR OLDER.[i],[ii],[iii]

HERE NOW TO HELP CLARIFY LINGERING CONFUSION AROUND COVID-19 AND VACCINATION ARE PHARMACIST JOHN BECKNER AND SILVIA TAYLOR, CHIEF CORPORATE AFFAIRS AND ADVOCACY OFFICER AT NOVAVAX.

BIO:
John O. Beckner, R.Ph.

John is a pharmacist consultant with the National Community Pharmacists Association. Most recently, he served NCPA as Senior Director of Strategic Initiatives where he helped independent community pharmacies develop diversified revenue streams and maximize patient care activities. In his current role, John continues to be involved in several diabetes and immunization related activities, and he hosts Independent Rx Forum, NCPA’s podcast. He is a staunch supporter of innovative community pharmacy practice, especially with respect to immunizations. During his tenure as Director of Pharmacy and Health Services for Ukrop’s Super Markets, the company received numerous awards for excellence in immunizations, including the Immunization Champion and Pinnacle Awards from APhA.  John is a member of the Virginia Pharmacists Association, of which he served as president in 1996-1997. He received the 2014 APhA-APPM Distinguished Achievement Award in Pharmacy Management and the 2015 Bowl of Hygeia Award for outstanding community service, sponsored by APhA and NASPA. Most recently John received the Ed. D. Spearbeck Virgina Pharmacist Service Award for 2024.
John holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Wake Forest University and a Bachelor of Science degree in pharmacy from VCU/ MCV. He is on the board of directors of the Virginia Pharmacists Association Research and Education Foundation, the Board of Trustees of the MCV Foundation, and the VCU School of Pharmacy National Advisory Council.  John has served on the board of the Central Virginia Chapter of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation (JDRF), the board of CrossOver Healthcare Ministry, the Health Practitioners Monitoring Committee for the Virginia Department of Health Professions, the board of Health Quality Innovators, and the Virginia Board of Pharmacy. John serves on several industry advisory boards including the Novavax Advisory Board and the Drug Store News Editorial Advisory Board. He is a luminary for CPESN VA and has been involved with the network since its inception.
John and his wife Pam have 3 children, 2 grandchildren, and 2 chocolate rescue labs!

Silvia Taylor
Executive Vice President,
Chief Corporate Affairs and Advocacy Officer
Silvia Taylor is the Executive Vice President and Chief Corporate Affairs and Advocacy Officer at Novavax. In her capacity, Ms. Taylor oversees both external and internal communications, government affairs, public policy, patient advocacy, corporate reputation, global corporate digital experience and engagement, and corporate responsibility. With a career spanning over 25 years in the pharmaceutical, biotech, and public health sectors, she brings a wealth of experience in commercial, corporate, and financial communications to her leadership role. Ms. Taylor’s diverse background includes marketing blockbuster and specialty pharmaceuticals, product launches, capital raising, and holding key positions in global investor relations and corporate affairs at prominent biopharmaceutical firms such as Pfizer, MedImmune, Sucampo, and Autolus.
Originally from Argentina, Ms. Taylor holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Columbia University and a Bachelor of Arts in foreign affairs from the University of Virginia. She also serves on the Board of Directors for the Maryland Technology Council.

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Throughout her prolific career, both as a reporter for the Baltimore Sun and a novelist, Laura Lippman has written an impressive collection of tales, ranging from the beloved Tess Monaghan series to her riveting and intellectually complex stand-alones. Critics and fans alike have praised Lippman’s unparalleled ability to weave together thought-provoking, intricate plotlines with fully realized and compelling characters. USA Today calls her work “disarming and fascinating,” while The Washington Post simply proclaims that Lippman is “one of the best novelists around, period.” Now with her new stand-alone, page turning novel AND WHEN SHE WAS GOOD (William Morrow), Lippman solidifies her position as one of the best voices of contemporary fiction.

Laura Lippman was a reporter for twenty years, including twelve years at the Baltimore Sun where her beat was crime stories. Her Tess Monaghan books: By a Spider’s Thread, The Last Place, The Sugar House, Baltimore Blues, Charm City, Butchers Hill, No Good Deeds, and In Big Trouble have won every major mystery prize including the Edgar, Shamus, Agatha, Anthony, and Nero Wolfe awards, and her novel In a Strange City was named a New York Times Notable Book of the Year. She is also the author of five previous stand-alone novels: To the Power of Three, Every Secret Thing, What the Dead Know (winner of the Quill Award for Best Mystery), Life Sentences and I’d Know You Anywhere-the last three were New York Times bestsellers. In 2008 Lippman’s award-winning short stories were anthologized for the first time in one volume, along with an original novella, under the title Hardly Knew Her. Fall 2008 also marked Lippman’s serialization in the New York Times Magazine with The Girl in the Green Raincoat-a continuation of her P.I. character Tess Monaghan. A recipient of the first Mayor’s Prize for Literary Excellence and the 2003 Maryland Author Award, she and her husband, television producer David Simon, divide their time between New York, Baltimore and New Orleans. Laura is a step parent to David’s son and last year they had their first baby girl. For more information on Laura: www.lauralippman.com.

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Mark Kennedy Shriver (born February 17, 1964) is a United States Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of US Programs for the charity Save the Children.[1] Shriver married Jeanne Eileen Ripp (born November 30, 1965)[2] on June 26, 1992[3] and they have three children: Mary Elizabeth “Molly” Shriver (born on 1998), Thomas Kennedy “Tommy” Shriver (born 1999), and Emma Rose Shriver (b. 2005).

Shriver was born in Washington, D.C. He is part of the Kennedy political family, since his mother was Eunice Mary Kennedy. He may also be considered to be a part of the “Shriver political family”, since his ancestor David Shriver was a delegate of Frederick County, Maryland who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland’s Constitutional Convention of 1776, and his father is Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps upon its establishment by President John F. Kennedy on September 22, 1961, a former ambassador to France and the 1972 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Mark Shriver has written a memoir about his father, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.[4] His sister, Maria Shriver, is a former journalist and the former First Lady of California (she was married to former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger until mid-year 2011).

Shriver attended high school at the Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland. Afterward, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross in 1986, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1993.

Shriver’s godfather is former professional tennis player Donald Dell.[5]

To go to the whole story go to: http://goodnewsplanet.com/mark-shriver-2/

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Mark Kennedy Shriver (born February 17, 1964) is a United States Democratic Party politician who served as a member of the Maryland House of Delegates for two consecutive terms, from 1995 to 2003. He currently serves as Senior Vice President of US Programs for the charity Save the Children.[1] Shriver married Jeanne Eileen Ripp (born November 30, 1965)[2] on June 26, 1992[3] and they have three children: Mary Elizabeth “Molly” Shriver (born on 1998), Thomas Kennedy “Tommy” Shriver (born 1999), and Emma Rose Shriver (b. 2005).
 
 
Shriver was born in Washington, D.C. He is part of the Kennedy political family, since his mother was Eunice Mary Kennedy. He may also be considered to be a part of the “Shriver political family”, since his ancestor David Shriver was a delegate of Frederick County, Maryland who signed the Maryland Constitution and Bill of Rights at Maryland’s Constitutional Convention of 1776, and his father is Sargent Shriver, the first director of the Peace Corps upon its establishment by President John F. Kennedy on September 22, 1961, a former ambassador to France and the 1972 Democratic Vice Presidential candidate. Mark Shriver has written a memoir about his father, A Good Man: Rediscovering My Father, Sargent Shriver.[4] His sister, Maria Shriver, is a former journalist and the former First Lady of California (she was married to former Governor of California Arnold Schwarzenegger until mid-year 2011).
 
Shriver attended high school at the Georgetown Preparatory School, North Bethesda, Maryland. Afterward, he earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of the Holy Cross in 1986, and a master’s degree in public administration from Harvard University in 1993.
 
Shriver’s godfather is former professional tennis player Donald Dell.[5]  
[edit] Career
 
From 1989 to 1994, he was a member of the Maryland Juvenile Justice Advisory Council. Starting in 1991, he also served on the Board of Directors of the Public Justice Center. From 1991 to 1992, he served on the Maryland Governor’s Task Force on Alternative Sanctions to Incarceration. From 1994 to 1995, he served on the Maryland Governor’s Commission on Service.
 
In 1994, he was elected to the Maryland House of Delegates, the lower house of the Maryland state legislature, representing Montgomery County, Maryland, District 15, and was reelected in 1998. He did not seek reelection in 2002 and was succeeded in that post by Brian Feldman.
 
In addition to serving as a delegate, he worked on the Task Force on the Maryland Prepaid-Tuition Savings Program in 1996, and on the Task Force to Study the Governance, Coordination, and Funding of the University System of Maryland from 1998 to 1999. He was a Founder and Executive Director of The Choice Program, an at-risk youth intervention project of the Shriver Center at University of Maryland, Baltimore County established in 1998. He then served on the Advisory Board on After-School Opportunity Programs from 1999 to 2003. From 2000 to 2001, he served on the Judith P. Hoyer Blue Ribbon Commission on Early Child Care and Education.
 
In 2002, he ran for U.S. Representative from the 8th Congressional District of Maryland. Despite innovative technology measures, Shriver was defeated in the Democratic primary by Chris Van Hollen, the eventual winner. Shriver lost 43% to 41%.[6]

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