2025 Bill Ward Education Award

Steve Schierholt serves as the Executive Director of the Ohio Board of Pharmacy. He is responsible for administering all orders of the Board as well as directing agency operations.  Steve has more than 40 years of experience in law enforcement and agency administration. Under his leadership, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy significantly expanded its mission to protect the public by adding regulatory oversight of pharmacy technicians, prescriber offices with controlled substances, home medical equipment, and prescriber compounding.

Steve also oversaw increased utilization of Ohio’s prescription drug monitoring program, known as the Ohio Automated Rx Reporting System (OARRS). He championed efforts to make Ohio the first state in the country to offer statewide, no-cost integration of OARRS into electronic health records and pharmacy dispensing systems. As a result of these efforts, OARRS has become an indispensable healthcare tool and is one of the most widely utilized systems in the country with more than one million patient requests per day.  In recognition of these achievements, the Ohio Board of Pharmacy was awarded the 2019 Fred T. Mahaffey Award by the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy.

Steve has been an active NASCSA member, having served on several committees over the past few years, including the Controlled Substances Committee and, most recently, the Resolutions/Bylaws Committee.  He is also an ardent supporter of the work of NASCSA, encouraging members of his team to contribute their time and talent to various committees, leadership positions within the organization, and speaking at our annual conference.

Steve is an active member of the National Association of Boards of Pharmacy and is currently serving a 3-year term (District 4) on the Executive Committee. He has provided valuable contributions as a member and chairperson for multiple iterations of the Committee on Law Enforcement/Legislation. Steve has also served on or chaired several task forces, work groups, and other NABP committees, including the Model Act Review Committee, the Work Group on Workplace Safety, Well-Being, and Working Conditions, and the Suspicious Orders Work Group. Additionally, he served as Executive Committee liaison to the Task Force to Review Unprofessional Conduct and Disciplinary Actions.

Prior to his work with the Board, Steve enjoyed a long career with the Ohio Bureau of Criminal Investigation as part of the Ohio Attorney General’s office, which included 3 years as the Assistant Superintendent. He has also served as a deputy sheriff for Auglaize County and as a military police officer in the United States Army.

A native of Lima, Steve is a graduate of Elida High School and received his undergraduate degree and Juris Doctorate from Capital University.

Honorary Members

NASCSA periodically grants honorary memberships to individuals previously employed by an entity involved with controlled substances issues who have made a significant contribution to the work of the Association. Individuals are nominated by the Executive Committee and approved by a subsequent vote of the full membership. Membership dues are waived for honorary members; however, they have no voting privileges and cannot hold office. They may, however, serve as ex officio members on committees when requested by the President of the Association.

Joshua Vinciguerra
Bill Weast
Don Williams
Michael Wissell
Terrance Woodworth
John Womble
Dean Wright
Chad Zadrazil