ALUMNI FOCUS
Realizing SHEILA ALIZADEH
A Dream BY LYDIA LEVIS BLOCH
Sheila Alizadeh
During her first year at the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy, Sheila Alizadeh, PharmD ’03, vowed: “One day I will have my own pharmacy.” In August 2010, after nearly a decade spent in retail and with international pharmaceutical companies, she realized her dream. Alizadeh acquired Shady Grove Pharmacy in Rockville, Md. “When I first visited the site, although I knew the existing business needed work, it still felt right from the moment I walked in,” she says. Alizadeh runs the day-to-day operations, and business partner Geoff Stewart oversees accounting, marketing, and business development of the pharmacy that is three blocks from the Universities at Shady Grove, where the School of Pharmacy has a distance-learning program for its PharmD curriculum. Alizadeh and Stewart completely refurbished the 1,100-square-foot space. Now shiny and spotless, the pharmacy boasts royal blue walls, two white leather sofas, and even a vase filled with white orchids. Their lime green and orange logo gleams behind the counter. Medications are tidily stacked from floor to ceiling. Photography by Eli Turner
Stewart has made certain there are plenty of crisp business cards, brochures featuring Alizadeh’s smiling portrait, and yes, rest assured, they’re on Facebook and the Web. “The pharmacy didn’t have a URL when we bought it,” he says. “Now we’re in the top five results for almost every Google search combination we can think of. “We want to be different from other pharmacies,” he adds. “Going to a pharmacy shouldn’t be a stressful experience; it should be relaxing, more like going to a spa.” Hence the white orchids, white sofas, and, especially, personalized service. For Alizadeh, success hinges on the degree of service she can provide. This means getting to know her customers, and taking time to address every question and concern. “At the end of the day I ask myself, ‘Did I make every customer happy?’” she says. “If they’ve had a pleasant experience, they’ll return.” As if on cue, a client in paint-splattered jeans and work boots comes into the pharmacy looking worried. He needs to leave town for two weeks on business. Can his prescription be refilled since he only has a few pills left? Alizadeh checks her stock. “Thanks,” he says gruffly, “you just saved my life.” summe r 201 1
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