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New York City Pharmacists Society NYCPSNew York City Pharmacists Society

Our team

Board of Directors

The 2026-27 NYCPS board members. Every one of them practises, owns, teaches, or represents pharmacy in New York City.

Marina Plotkins

Marina Plotkins

President

Marina is a pharmacist attorney on the Medical and Life Sciences Industry Team at Harris Beach in New York City. With years of experience as a supervising pharmacist, Marina has unique insight in the defense of pharmacies and pharmacists.

Marina conducts internal pharmacy investigations for a national pharmacy chain in connection with opioid stewardship and proper interception of pain management prescribing practices. She represents clients in healthcare fraud investigations on the state and federal level.

Marina provides audit assistance to community pharmacies audited by Pharmacy Benefit Managers, assisting with document preparation, discrepancy analysis, and appeal submission. She also represents pharmacies audited by the New York State Office of the Medicaid Inspector General (OMIG), and offers Fraud, Waste and Abuse compliance development.

She is involved with the American Society for Pharmacy Law, having presented to a national audience on the Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. She has also presented on pharmacist corresponding responsibility to identify and resolve red flags in filling controlled substance prescriptions.

Vito Columbo

Vito Columbo

Chairman of the Board

Vito Columbo serves as Chairman of the NYCPS Board of Directors.

Bill Scheer

Bill Scheer

Treasurer

Bill Scheer is the current Treasurer of the New York City Pharmacists Society.

James R. Schiffer

James R. Schiffer

Secretary and Senior Newsletter Editor

James R. Schiffer graduated from the Brooklyn College of Pharmacy in 1973 and began his venture into community pharmacy ownership in May 1979, when he and his close friend Phil Gatti opened Jim & Phil's Family Pharmacy in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. Jim continues to serve as an adjunct pharmacy professor at the Arnold & Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy and Health Sciences of LIU, as he has done since 1987.

In 1999 Jim enrolled in the Brooklyn Law School night program and graduated with his law degree in June 2003. He was admitted as an attorney in New York and New Jersey in early 2004 and has been affiliated with, and is currently a partner at, the law firm of Allegaert Berger & Vogel LLP, where he began his legal career in January 2004. Jim was admitted to practice law in the District of Columbia in 2005.

Jim maintained his dual career as pharmacy owner and practicing lawyer until November 2007, when the pressure of both careers and his responsibility to his family led him to close the pharmacy and focus on his second career path, serving as counsel to many pharmacists and pharmacy owners.

Jim has been a member of NYCPS and PSSNY for over 35 years. He served as NYCPS president from 1996 to 1998, is senior editor of the NYCPS Newsletter, and has served as NYCPS Secretary since stepping down as President and then Chairman of the Board. He currently handles Board of Pharmacy disciplinary matters, manages DEA investigations of pharmacies and pharmacists, and responds to audits of pharmacies by both government watchdogs and PBMs.

Joseph P. Navarra

Joseph P. Navarra

Recording Secretary

Joseph P. Navarra, R.Ph., FACA, FAPC is the owner of Town Total Compounding Center, an accredited compounding pharmacy providing sterile and non-sterile patient-specific prescriptions following USP <795>, <797>, and <800> guidelines. He graduated from St. John's University College of Pharmacy in Queens, New York in 1992.

Joseph has been deeply involved in professional organizations promoting and enhancing the practice of pharmacy. He is a past President and past Chairman of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York and of the Italian-American Pharmacists Society, a current board member of the New York City Pharmacists Society, and a past Chairman of the Alliance for Pharmacy Compounding.

His awards include the Distinguished Young Pharmacists Award, Preceptor of the Year Awards, and the Innovative Pharmacy Practice Award. He is married to Ann-Margaret Navarra, PhD, CPNP-PC, FAAN, Associate Dean of Nursing at Stony Brook University, and has a daughter, Theresa, a nurse working at the NYU Emergency Department.

Recording Secretary line: 516-249-7436

Mohammed Taher

Mohammed Taher

Director

Mohammad Taher served as President of the Bangladeshi-American Pharmacists Society from 2016 to 2017. Around the same time, he was invited to join the board of directors of NYCPS.

Mohammad currently serves as the Queens regional representative for the PSSNY board of directors, Vice Chairman of RxPac of New York, and an Alumni Board member at his alma mater, the Arnold and Marie Schwartz College of Pharmacy.

In his words: “To treat pharmacy as a profession we all must be actively involved with organizations. My passion and desire to make our profession better is the reason I chose to get involved with various organizations and colleges of pharmacy to mentor future generations.”

Danny Dang

Danny Dang

Director

Danny Dang, PharmD, is a graduate of Long Island University (Class of 2004) and serves on its alumni board. He is the CEO and founder of Nynth Group Inc., a multidisciplinary company spanning pharmacy, real estate, telemedicine, and medical billing.

Danny currently serves as President and Chairman of the Pharmacists Society of the State of New York (PSSNY). He is also a board member of NYCPS and plays an active role in independent pharmacy advocacy and on the LIU alumni board.

A community leader, Danny supports national and local Vietnamese organizations including VACP, USVFA, and the NY Vietnamese Community. He champions AAPI political empowerment, healthcare equity, and workforce opportunity, and holds leadership roles with Encore.org, promoting multigenerational social impact.

He believes in building transparent, sustainable systems that uplift underserved communities, and works as a bridge-builder across industries and cultures. His guiding mission: “To improve lives through advocacy, entrepreneurship, and purpose.”

Roger J. Paganelli

Roger J. Paganelli

Director

Roger J. Paganelli is a third-generation pharmacist and independent community pharmacy owner in the Bronx.

He is lead luminary of CPESN NYC, a clinically integrated network of networks operating throughout the United States and consisting of more than 3,500 independent pharmacies. Roger is a past president of PSSNY and IPS and a current board member of NYCPS.

He is married to Joanne Paganelli, also a pharmacist, and they are the parents of five adult children.

Vincent Mazzamuto

Vincent Mazzamuto

Director

Vincent Mazzamuto has practiced as a retail pharmacist for 25 years and is co-owner of Sedgwick Pharmacy.

Charles Ciaccio

Charles Ciaccio

Director

Charles Ciaccio is a retail independent pharmacist and Chairman of the Italian American Pharmacist Society. He serves as the PSSNY regional representative for Queens.

Thao Doan

Thao Doan

Director

Thao Doan serves on the NYCPS Board of Directors and as the PSSNY regional representative for Brooklyn.

Priyiank Patel

Priyiank Patel

Director

Priyiank Patel serves on the NYCPS Board of Directors and as the PSSNY regional representative for the Bronx.

Ambar Keluskar

Ambar Keluskar

Director

Ambar Keluskar serves on the NYCPS Board of Directors.

Vyacheslav Kheyman

Vyacheslav Kheyman

Director

Vyacheslav Kheyman serves on the NYCPS Board of Directors.

Rathna Veeramachanani

Rathna Veeramachanani

Director

Rathna Veeramachanani serves on the NYCPS Board of Directors.

PSSNY regional reps

Who represents your borough

  • BronxPriyiank Patel
  • ManhattanJim Schiffer
  • BrooklynThao Doan
  • QueensCharles Ciaccio
  • Staten IslandJim Schiffer

Other positions

Society roles

Recording Secretary

Joseph P. Navarra
516-249-7436

Newsletter

Jim Schiffer, Senior Editor
212-616-7069

Newsletter production

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