NCPA Foundation Recognizes Heather Lyons-Burney as Outstanding Faculty Liaison of the Year

NEW ORLEANS, La. (Oct. 19, 2025) – The National Community Pharmacists Association Foundation has recognized Heather Lyons-Burney, clinical associate professor and assistant director of experiential learning at the University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Pharmacy, as the 2025 Outstanding Faculty Liaison of the Year. The award recognizes a faculty liaison who demonstrates exceptional leadership and commitment to independent pharmacy, their NCPA Student Chapter, and the community. Lyons-Burney was recognized as part of NCPA’s Annual Convention, being held Oct. 18-21 in New Orleans, La. The selection was made through a blind judging process to guarantee fairness and impartiality.

Lyons-Burney joined the faculty at the UMKC School of Pharmacy in 2014. While there, she became NCPA faculty adviser and faculty mentor for student teams competing in the Good Neighbor Pharmacy NCPA Pruitt-Schutte Student Business Plan Competition and poster presentations at the NCPA Annual Convention. Over the years, she has coordinated and taught various topics in the classroom including compounding, self-care pharmacotherapy, leadership, management, and innovation. In addition, she provides experiential learning at a community pharmacy practice site with a focus on alleviating health disparities in rural and underserved populations.

Following residency, Lyons-Burney began her career as a pharmacist with Cox Health Systems in Springfield, Mo., serving in the neonatal and perinatal care units. This was followed by ownership of one community pharmacy in Branson, Mo., which expanded to three community pharmacies. In 2010, she and a group of community leaders established a charitable primary care clinic focused on interdisciplinary care in order provide affordable health care for the medically underserved. As a part of her ongoing Board service, she worked to establish the state’s first designated charitable pharmacy, opening My Neighbor’s Charitable Pharmacy in February 2023 and providing access for uninsured individuals to medications, immunizations, lab testing and screening, and pharmacist care. Currently, she serves on several community boards including the Taney County Health Department Board.

Lyons-Burney’s areas of service have included substance use disorder prevention, two county coalitions, time as a team member and presenter for Missouri’s ECHO program, and numerous educational speaking opportunities focused on opioid use disorder. Additionally, she has been a part of several grants targeting optimal opioid prescribing and opioid use disorder prevention strategies. Recently, she has been involved in efforts to increase colorectal cancer screening in rural and underserved communities, specifically utilizing community pharmacies as access points.

Her dedication to community service has been recognized by the UMKC School of Pharmacy Alumni Achievement Award in 2017, the Branson Chamber Mary Award in 2021, the Pharmacy Bowl of Hygeia Award in 2023, and the Humanitarian of the Year Award from the Community Foundation of the Ozarks in 2023.

Her proudest achievements have been her nearly 30-year marriage to her husband and business partner, Brian; their three children, Alex (23), Maya (22) and Will (20); and the many friendships she has made over the years through the profession of pharmacy.

Josh Henderson, the pharmacy student who nominated Lyons-Burney, said, “Her leadership style seamlessly blends autonomy with unwavering support, fostering trust, independence, and accountability. She encourages initiative while remaining a constant source of guidance, insight, and encouragement. Her words shaped my leadership, and her role in the business plan competition further demonstrates her commitment to fostering innovation in independent pharmacy.”