PDL appoints two new Professional Officers

PDL appoints two new Professional Officers news image

PDL is pleased to announce the appointment of Kylie Neville and Dr Simone Henriksen as Professional Officers, joining Gary West, Jess Hadley and Naomi Lim.

Based in Queensland, Kylie has been a practising pharmacist for more than 18 years, with experience in public and private hospital pharmacy, community pharmacy management, compounding and medicinal cannabis supply. In recent years, an interest in broadening her knowledge across a range of pharmacy environments led Kylie to experience online pharmacy and IVF clinic practice. Since 2008, Kylie has mentored pharmacy students and has been an intern pharmacist preceptor. Kylie’s areas of interest include diabetes education, compounding, vaccination and expansion of scope of practice for pharmacists.

Simone has been a pharmacist for more than 30 years and is also based in Queensland. In her early career, Simone worked in community pharmacies in New South Wales and Queensland as a pharmacist in charge and later as a pharmacy owner. Simone has previously owned and operated several pharmacies in regional Queensland and Brisbane. Simone completed a Bachelor of Laws (First Class Honours) at the University of the Sunshine Coast (UniSC) and was awarded a PhD in Law in 2023 for her thesis examining the governance structure and regulation of the alcohol and other drug treatment sector in Australia. Simone continues her connection with the UniSC School of Law and Society while also working as a locum pharmacist. Simone’s areas of interest include quality use of medicines and the regulation of pharmacy services in Australia.

PDL Chair, Paul Naismith, welcomed the two new Professional Officers and reflected on the value they will provide to PDL members.

“We are delighted to welcome Kylie and Simone to PDL, both very experienced Australian pharmacists who will be a great asset to our growing team of Professional Officers,” he said.

“The Professional Officer position requires a high level of experience and qualifications as a pharmacist, as well as a great amount of empathy and understanding. With more applicants than ever before, this demonstrates the value of the incident support and advice service to Australian pharmacists as they continue to serve our communities every day. We look forward to the ongoing support that Kylie and Simone will provide to our members.”

Kylie and Simone will work closely with the other Professional Officers and the Professional Development Pharmacist, and provide 24/7 incident support and advice to PDL members. They commenced with PDL in February 2024.

From left to right: Kylie Neville, Dr Simone Henriksen