{"id":244010,"date":"2026-04-16T09:00:06","date_gmt":"2026-04-16T13:00:06","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=244010"},"modified":"2026-04-16T11:10:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-16T15:10:12","slug":"school-of-pharmacy-and-pharmaceutical-sciences-2026-commencement-speakers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2026\/04\/school-of-pharmacy-and-pharmaceutical-sciences-2026-commencement-speakers\/","title":{"rendered":"School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences 2026 Commencement Speakers"},"content":{"rendered":"

A successful Connecticut State Representative and trained pharmacist, Tracy Marra,\u00a0will address\u00a0graduates\u00a0during the\u00a02026 Pharm.D. ceremony.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Born and<\/span> raised in Kentucky,\u00a0Representative\u00a0Marra took her values of community and responsibility and her passions for academics\u00a0to\u00a0Butler University. Graduating in 1999 with a\u00a0Pharm.D,\u00a0Rep.\u00a0Marra began her career as a community pharmacist\u00a0before transitioning to a hospital setting. Working with professionals from countries around the world,\u00a0she\u00a0furthered her dedication\u00a0to public health and advocacy.\u00a0Before\u00a0beginning her career as a politician,\u00a0she\u00a0worked as a pharmacist with the Bermuda Diabetes Resource Centre, as a clinical staff pharmacist with King Edward Memorial Hospital, President of the Bermuda Pharmacy Association, and Chair of the Continuing Education Committee, as well as other positions in community pharmacy.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Representative
Representative Tracy Marra<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Moving to Connecticut served as a transition in many ways and in<\/span> 2022, Rep. Marra was first elected to serve the 141<\/span><\/span>st<\/span><\/span>\u00a0District. Serving the towns of Norwalk and Darien with distinction ever since, she\u00a0<\/span>serves<\/span>\u00a0on the Public Health and\u00a0<\/span>Transportation Committees and has previously served on the Education Committee. For the 2025-2026 legislative session, House Republican Leader Vincent Candelora appointed\u00a0<\/span>Rep.\u00a0<\/span>Marra<\/span>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>the position of<\/span>\u00a0Ranking Member\u00a0<\/span>of<\/span>\u00a0the Energy and Technology Committee, where she serves as a liaison to caucus members.\u00a0<\/span>Most notably, her work in advancing prescription drug affordability, public health, and patient protections\u00a0<\/span>was recognized when\u00a0<\/span>she was honored as a<\/span>\u00a02025 AARP Healthcare Champion.\u00a0<\/span>Also leading the way for women in legislation,\u00a0<\/span>Rep.\u00a0<\/span>Marra was named a Woman of Excellence by the National Foundation for Women Legislators.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>She was also appointed by the speaker of the house to the NCSL Task Force on Artificial Intelligence, Cyber Security and Privacy, as well as the NCSL Energy Supply Task Force.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Balancing a busy schedule,\u00a0Rep.\u00a0Marra, her husband David, and their three daughters are proud Connecticut residents.\u00a0Excited about Connecticut\u2019s future, Rep. Marra is committed to fostering a state that welcomes business, expands educational opportunities, and increases economic growth. She believes that Connecticut has a bright future, and the young people of Connecticut will be the energy and talent we need for that future.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The 2026 BS\u00a0Commencement Speaker, Marielle\u00a0Nyser, will return to her alma mater to\u00a0celebrate and inspire students as they enter their final two years of the professional program. Graduating from\u00a0the School in 1992 with her BS in Pharmacy,\u00a0Nyser\u00a0also completed her residency at\u00a0the\u00a0UConn\u00a0Health Center.\u00a0Upon completion,\u00a0Nyser\u00a0worked as a Clinical Pharmacist at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and Chartwell Home Infusion before transitioning into management and consulting roles.\u00a0With\u00a0extensive\u00a0experience,\u00a0Nyser\u00a0has become a managed healthcare and biopharmaceutical science business leader.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"Headshot
Headshot of Marielle Nyser<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Educating scientists and clinicians worldwide on new medicines in clinical development<\/span>,\u00a0<\/span>Nyser<\/span>\u00a0spent 17 year<\/span>s at<\/span>\u00a0Bristol-Myers Squibb,<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>working in\u00a0<\/span>roles<\/span>\u00a0including Group Director of Research and\u00a0<\/span>Development<\/span>\u00a0(R&D) Learning and Executive Director of Scientific Learning &\u00a0<\/span>Collaboration<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>before becoming a\u00a0<\/span>Principal at Marielle\u00a0<\/span>Nyser<\/span>\u00a0Consulting<\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>In 2019,\u00a0<\/span>Nyser<\/span>\u00a0joined\u00a0<\/span>The\u00a0<\/span>Cigna\u00a0<\/span>Group\u00a0<\/span>and currently serves as<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Operations Enablement Lead of Readiness & Data Insights<\/span><\/span>.\u00a0<\/span>Providing strategic consultation on learning and leadership challenges in this role,\u00a0<\/span>Nyser<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>uses<\/span>\u00a0data to gain insights to drive decisions<\/span>\u00a0and\u00a0<\/span>enable<\/span>\u00a0<\/span>people and organizations to perform at their highest level.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to a B.S. from UConn,\u00a0Nyser\u00a0also received her M.A. in Strategic Communications & Leadership from Seton Hall University in 2015, graduating Summa Cum Laude.\u00a0Passionate about\u00a0leading students to their best potential,\u00a0Nyser\u00a0was a volunteer in the ILEAD-9 Program at Hilton Head Island High School, where she\u00a0facilitated\u00a0leadership-building activities for 9<\/span>th<\/span> grade students. Showcasing her leadership skills, Nyser was a preceptor of UConn Rx students, a mentor for the School\u2019s Leadership Program, an APPE PharmD Preceptor, and served on various boards and associations. The former president of the University of Connecticut School of Pharmacy Alumni Association from 2015 to 2017 (now the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Alumni <\/span>Board), and a current member of the School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Advisory Board, Nyser is deeply passionate about serving the UConn community. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Nyser currently resides in South Carolina with her husband. She enjoys golfing, gardening, and spending time with her grandchildren. With pride for the School, Nyser continues to cheer on the UConn Huskies\u2019 sports teams.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The School\u2019s Pharm.D. Ceremony will take place on May 10<\/span>th<\/span>\u00a0at 1:30\u00a0PM,\u00a0followed by the B.S. Ceremony at 6:00\u00a0PM.\u00a0Both\u00a0ceremonies will take place in Jorgensen. More\u00a0information about these\u00a0commencements can be found on the\u00a0<\/span>UConn Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences Website.<\/span><\/a>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The University of Connecticut\u2019s School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences welcomes Tracy Marra (Pharm.D.) and Marielle Nyser (BS Pharm, MA) to speak at UConn Pharmacy\u2019s Commencement on May 10th. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":221,"featured_media":244011,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1864],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[2644],"class_list":["post-244010","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pharm"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-05-05 17:23:17","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244010","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/221"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=244010"}],"version-history":[{"count":15,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244010\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244070,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/244010\/revisions\/244070"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/244011"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=244010"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=244010"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=244010"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=244010"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=244010"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}