Board Members

The Board is composed of five members appointed by the Governor consisting of four pharmacists and one public member. Election of officers takes place on an annual basis on the 1st meeting after the month of June.

Kristina Jonas, PharmD

Chairman Boise, ID Phone: (208) 850-4884 Practice: Chain / Community Pharmacy
Term Expires: June 30, 2021 Kris Jonas, PharmD currently serves as the supervisor of the CVS Caremark front end mail order facility in Boise ID. Prior to taking on that roll, she was a pharmacist for Walmart Stores, Inc. Dr. Jonas has spent over 30 years in Idaho, graduating from Idaho State University in 1993 with a Doctor of Pharmacy degree. She is a past-president of the Idaho State Pharmacy Association, and was Walmart’s Pharmacy District Manager of the Year in 2002. Dr. Jonas is passionate about getting naloxone into the hands of lay persons, and into facilities and schools, as this life-saving medication is crucial in overdose situations. Dr. Jonas has served on the Board since June 2013.

Richard de Blaquiere, PharmD

Member Sandpoint, ID Phone: (208) 610-0752 Practice: Independent / Community Pharmacy
Term Expires: June 30, 2022 Rich de Blaquiere, PharmD, is an independent pharmacy owner of White Cross Pharmacy in North Idaho. White Cross Pharmacy has locations in Priest River, Sandpoint, and Spirit Lake. Dr. de Blaquiere received his Bachelor of Science from the University of Arizona in 1997 and was a 2004 graduate of the Washington State University College of Pharmacy. Dr. de Blaquiere has been serving on the Board since January of 2010.

Edmund Sperry

Public Member Boise, ID Phone: (208) 949-6738 Term Expires: June 30, 2023 Ed Sperry has dedicated his life to public service, having served as a public member for the Utah Division of Occupational and Professional Licensing’s Chiropractic Board, Physical Therapy Board, Veterinary Board, and Physician Licensing Board. He retired from the United States Army Special Forces after serving 20 years as an Intel and Operations Sergeant and Green Beret Medic. The skills and discipline he leaned as an A TEAM leader were perfect for creating and building a strong business mindset. Mr. Sperry has a passion for helping people find their perfect home and has been in the real estate industry for almost 40 years. He owns Equity Idaho in Boise and is currently recruiting and mentoring the next generation of real estate professionals. Mr. Sperry has been serving on the Board since April of 2012.

Justin Messenger, PharmD

Member Phone: (208) 221-0246 Practice: Hospital / Retail Term Expires: June 30, 2024
Justin Messenger grew up in Idaho Falls and graduated Valedictorian of his high school. He is a 2011 graduate from Idaho State University’s College of Pharmacy and is currently enrolled in the MBA program ISU. He had close to 12 years of retail experience before pivoting into hospital pharmacy two years ago. Looking back, he set his sights on pharmacy because of a recommendation from his older brother. That was during his sophomore year in high school. After researching the profession and presenting on it during career day, he knew pharmacy was what he wanted to do. During his research years ago, he valued the different career paths pharmacists have access to. There are many: community pharmacy (retail, independent), hospital (ER, ICU, Ambulatory Care), clinical, pharmaceutical, or a combination of those to name a few. It’s truly amazing how many different paths a pharmacist may take, or even change, during the course of his or her career. He has enjoyed the switch to hospital pharmacy from the community/retail sector, although he misses the patient interaction greatly. He sees himself continuing to develop his hospital skills and applying the MBA teachings to continue to improve processes, workflow, and inventory management at the hospital he’s employed at. For the past 14 years, he’s worked in some aspect of the pharmacy business. He started as a technician, then intern, and finally pharmacist. He’s witnessed many changes, some positive and some negative, but looks forward with hope and excitement for what the future brings for the profession like provider status and independent prescribing. He has a wonderful wife and 3 kids! They love the outdoors. They ski every weekend in the winter and bike and rock climb in the summer.

Kevin Ellis, PharmD

Member
Phone: (208) 630-3744
Practice: Chain
Term Expires: June 30, 2025

Nicki Chopski, PharmD

Executive Director (Ex Officio Member) Pocatello, ID Phone: (208) 334-2356 Nicole “Nicki” Chopski, PharmD, is the Executive Director of the Idaho State Board of Pharmacy. In this capacity, her primary role is to promote, preserve and protect the health, safety, and welfare of the public by and through the effective control and regulation of the practice of pharmacy in the state of Idaho. Raised and educated in Pocatello, Nicki Chopski obtained her Doctor of Pharmacy degree from Idaho State University College of Pharmacy in 1997. She is a Certified Geriatric Pharmacist and completed Purdue University College of Pharmacy’s program in nuclear pharmacy in 2006. She previously served as a hospital pharmacist at Portneuf Medical Center and served as a board member for the Board of Pharmacy for 12 years. Dr. Chopski believes that it is through leadership and involvement of the individual pharmacist that the profession of pharmacy will continue to advance and succeed, which is demonstrated by her involvement in multiple professional organizations at the local, state and national level. Outside of pharmacy, her interests include riding her Harley Davidson motorcycle, traveling and serving the POW*MIA Awareness Association locally and National League of POW/MIA Families nationally.