The National Association of Women Pharmacists (NAWP) has today announced the election of its new president, Oluomachi Yvonne Okereke. 

Okereke is the 51st president of the (NAWP), a network of the Pharmacists Defence Association (PDA), and has served as a co-opted committee member of the NAWP since 2024. 

Read more: ‘We want women to thrive’: Taking the stigma out of women’s health 

Okereke has also played an active role within the PDA, serving as a training rep and later as a PDA workplace representative, where she sat on the Joint Negotiating Consultative Committee at York and Scarborough Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. 

She is stepping into the role after spending two years as elected honorary secretary of the PDA BAME Network. 

“An opportunity to give back” 

Okereke said she felt “especially privileged” to be taking on the role and called her appointment “an opportunity to give back to a network that has played an important part in my own growth”. 

“I am particularly passionate about ensuring that women at every stage of their pharmacy careers feel represented, supported, and encouraged to step forward, especially those who may not initially see themselves in leadership or advocacy spaces,” she added. 

Read more: ‘Women need a new front door to the NHS - the pharmacy is open’ 

Ayisat Bolanle Gbajabiamila has been elected vice president following a 20-year career as a locum pharmacist across “community pharmacy, primary care, clinical practice, and pharmacy leadership”. 

Gbajabiamila said her election to the role was “a profound honour and a responsibility I accept with humility, gratitude, and purpose”. 

“A stronger future for pharmacy” 

“I believe that when women support women, we create stronger professionals, stronger communities, and a stronger future for pharmacy,” she added. 

Wye Bing Chan was re-elected as honorary secretary, a position she has served in since 2022. 

Read more: Community and prison locum elected new NAWP president 

It comes after former NAWP president Lourette Latif Philips, writing for C+D, called for default flexible working arrangements for pharmacists returning to work after giving birth. 

Philips recommended a “National Return-to-Practice Framework”, including “funded refresher training, updates on changes, mentoring and protected time” and the creation of “family-friendly workplaces” through adjusted rotas, suitable rest areas and flexibility to express milk.