Kendra Townsend joined the CCAPP board in 2020 as the appointee from the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada. Kendra completed her Bachelor of Science in Pharmacy degree at the University of Saskatchewan and then completed a hospital pharmacy residency at Saskatoon City Hospital. Though now semi-retired, Kendra has had the opportunity to experience a variety of pharmacy practice settings. Early in her career, she spent a year providing support to the College of Pharmacy (U of S) in curriculum development and instruction support. This was followed by two years as a rural hospital consultant working in the southern part of Saskatchewan. In 1994, Kendra and her husband purchased a small community pharmacy in rural Saskatchewan and spent twenty-two years in that setting. During this time, Kendra developed a special interest in diabetes education and management which led to acquiring permanent provincial funding for a collaborative diabetes program conducted out of the Wynyard Community Health Centre. Many University of Saskatchewan pharmacy students completed specialty rotations under the supervision of Kendra and her colleagues. Kendra has had the privilege of working with Indigenous communities to support diabetes education and management, as well as acted as a course facilitator for education of health care team members that work with Indigenous individuals living with diabetes.
In 2016, Kendra began contract work with Prairie Vascular Research Inc. in Regina, SK. This provided Kendra with training in cardiac clinical trial work first as a research assistant, and then as study manager for the organization. She retired from active research in 2021 but continues to provide support to the research team and is involved with projects related to rare cardiac disease states.
Over her career, Kendra has been involved in a number of national pharmacy organizations and endeavors. She was part of the Editorial Advisory Board of the Canadian Pharmacists Journal and acted as a moderator for the ADAPT continuing education program for enhanced patient care and management. She has served on the National Drug Scheduling Advisory Committee and the Board of the Pharmacy Examining Board of Canada, including terms as President on each. Locally, Kendra has been a long-time volunteer with Diabetes Canada, and recently helped create a Diabetes Educators of Saskatchewan professional group. Over the past six years, Kendra and Dallas have been billet parents for players in the Western Hockey League which has provided plenty of winter entertainment and kitchen time.