John Lacey

With more than 20 years of experience in pharmacy-based industries (12 of which come from higher educational institutions), Johnny Lacey brings in a strong business acumen of leadership, sales, operations, and relationship-building to KGI’s School of Pharmacy and Health Sciences. Lacey utilizes a high level of charisma, passion, and determination in his role as the Admissions Outreach Representative for the Doctor of Pharmacy (PharmD) program at KGI to recruit students from diverse backgrounds and education levels. He has a strong passion for motivating and mentoring all levels of students towards embracing and adopting a lifelong desire for continual learning and growth—and he is also adept at building strong business partnerships that help transform the lives of students and graduates on their journey toward meeting their full potential.

Lacey came to KGI in March 2022 and has been instrumental in growing the PharmD student population by increasing the visibility of KGI’s PharmD program to key colleges, including a strong focus on community college students. Before joining KGI, Lacey was an award-winning Director of Career Services at American Career College. He hired and developed a team of Externship and Career Placement Specialists to ensure successful yearly placement outcomes (externship-to-hire and direct-hire) for up to 1,200 students from 10 healthcare programs. Lacey was instrumental in assisting with institutional effectiveness projects to streamline and improve workflow processes—and was also known for organizing and facilitating bi-annual healthcare career fairs, which boasted 50+ high-level healthcare employers and increased graduate placement rates.

In his early career, Lacey spent eight years as a Pharmacy Technician at Kaiser Permanente and two years as a Pharmaceutical Sales Rep with HD Smith. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Organizational Leadership from Azusa Pacific University. When Lacey is not working, he loves spending time with his family and friends, taking care of his dogs and his home, traveling the world, enjoying the beach, going to movies and plays, and driving his 1967 Volkswagen Microbus.