SOP alum to help shape direction of public health as member of N.C. commission

By Chuck Gordon

Nathan Roberts '18 (Pharm.D.) has come a long way in seven years.

During his School of Pharmacy days, Roberts mostly kept his head down and studied. He wasn't involved in any clubs or professional organizations and didn't take on any leadership roles.

Once on the job, though, he quickly found his footing, using his considerable people skills as a pharmacist and later pharmacy manager to be handed more and more responsibility. Fast forward to this past July, and Roberts, now a district manager who oversees 22 CVS stores, was chosen by Gov. Josh Stein to sit on the state of North Carolina's 13-member Commission for Public Health.

Roberts and the other board members - who come from a variety of fields, such as nursing, veterinary medicine, optometry, even sanitation and soil engineering - must sign off on any rules made by the Department of Public Health. The board meets once every quarter, plus any special sessions necessary to tackle timely topics.

Roberts' voice will be an integral part of the future of public health in the state. For example, in recent years pharmacists have lobbied to be able to provide Covid-19 vaccines and medications, such as Paxlovid, without a prescription. As a member of the state commission, Roberts will be speaking on behalf of pharmacists in such conversations.

"When there's conversations - 'Hey, how can we provide better patient access? How can we get services to patients the fastest?' - I think pharmacy is the answer a lot of times," he says. "We're the most accessible healthcare professional that there is, and so I think we've got an even deeper place in the community, and I think I can help lead that from the front with the Department of Public Health."

Roberts' appointment might seem odd, considering that he's just 33 years old, but he's packed a lot of experience into his seven years in the industry. Early on in his career with the giant drugstore chain CVS, he signed up for the company's learning and development program, and before long he was managing stores. "I worked at a couple of different locations, took on a couple of challenges, rebuilt some teams," he says. "My leader put his faith in me, and I got an opportunity."

As a district manager the past three years, Roberts has overseen 60 different stores, in both metropolitan and rural areas. He visits stores, troubleshoots, pores over customer-service, efficiency and compliance data, and generally makes sure that the stores are running well and that employees are engaged and happy.

It hasn't all been smooth sailing, which might be one reason Roberts was selected for the commission post. During his year as manager of the Hickory, N.C., district, which includes several mountain towns, including Boone, Spruce Pine and West Jefferson, he had to handle the aftermath of Hurricane Helene.

Roberts was already sold on pharmacy as a profession, of course, but the impact of Helene reinforced his career decision.

"I've never seen the impact to patient access like during the hurricane," he says. "At our store in Spruce Pine, we didn't have power for days. Just seeing how that impacted the community and how much the community needed us opened my eyes to how much the profession of pharmacy is needed and how we have to maintain access throughout all the challenges we might face."

Roberts checked a lot of boxes for Stein: He understands the healthcare needs of rural communities, and he's shepherded multiple stores through both Covid-19 and Helene.

He is also an outgoing people-first manager and mentor with a good track record of hiring, serving as a talent-acquisition captain in his region, which encompasses much of western North Carolina and upstate South Carolina.

In late 2023, Roberts took over a Hickory district facing a staffing shortage.

"I was able to hire 15 pharmacists throughout that area and was just really focused on connecting with people," he says. "In my opinion, people work for people, and I think that it's a gift to be able to connect with people and be able to influence. You've got to be able to connect with people to be able to influence decisions and be able to influence people's impact."

Now Roberts has a chance to influence the direction of public health over the next three-plus years. Unlike when he graduated from the School of Pharmacy, the profession is facing a shortage of pharmacists right now.

"Retail pharmacy's challenging," he says. "I don't think that's a big secret, but it is extremely rewarding and essential. We've got a really integral place in the community, and we need amazing pharmacists to help provide those services.

"I try to keep people at the forefront of it, and I'll do the same in making decisions on the profession with the Department of Public Health."

Dec. 19, 2025