Ex-officio Trustee
AAPA BOD Designee
Todd Pickard, DMSc, PA-C, DFAAPA, FASCO
Houston, TX
Todd Pickard is Immediate Past President of the board of the American Academy of PAs and serving his eleventh term on the AAPA Board of Directors. Pickard served three terms as Speaker of the House of Delegates, building on his 15-plus years of service in the House of Delegates representing the Association of PAs in Oncology (APAO) and the Texas Academy of PAs. He has also served as the president and on leadership boards of both constituency organizations.
Specializing in oncology, PA Pickard has spent twenty-five years fighting cancer at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, Texas. Joining the MD Anderson team as a PA in the department of Urology, PA Pickard has served in other roles including clinical cancer prevention, head and neck medical oncology, lymphoma, and administrative leadership. He currently serves as executive director of advanced practice, while continuing to practice in the urology department.
Inquisitive by nature, PA Pickard has spent a lifetime asking questions and seeking answers. As the PA always asking “how” or “why,” he was often tasked with finding answers when none existed or solutions when the answers weren’t good enough. PA Pickard’s reputation as a problem solver goes well beyond his work at MD Anderson, and extends to his work as a policy maker, legislative advocate, and mentor. Often reflecting on the challenges he’s faced as a PA and administrator, he enjoys being a resource for others and seeing his colleagues empowered.
His leadership journey began by volunteering to solve operational issues early in his career as a clinical PA. When Texas approved prescriptive authority for PAs, PA Pickard volunteered to help design the implementation process for his institution. As a result of these experiences, he was given the opportunity to create, and then interview for, the first PA administrative position in the newly-designated Office of PA Programs at MD Anderson Cancer Center.
Advocacy for PAs has led him to other opportunities to serve. PA Pickard was the legislative chair for the Texas Academy of PAs. During his tenure he strengthened the inclusion of PA trainees and pre-PA students in legislative activity. One of his accomplishments was the elimination of PA supervision limits in Texas.
PA Pickard’s passion for oncology practice and increasing the recognition of PAs for their clinical roles in the care of patients with cancer, led him to help create and then serve as the AAPA/APAO Medical Liaison to the American Society of Clinical Oncology, where he worked with others to secure a stronger voice for PAs in Oncology.
PA Pickard earned his Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Texas at Austin, his Master of Medical Science from Emory University School of Medicine, and his Doctor of Medical Science from University of Lynchburg in May 2024. A believer in life-long learning, he has also acquired a graduate certificate in health care management from Rice University and completed MD Anderson certificate programs in administrative leadership and clinical safety and effectiveness. He has earned the designation of AAPA Distinguished Fellow and one of two PAs to earn Fellow of the American Society of Clinical Oncology.