ARLINGTON, Va. — The National Association of Chain Drug Stores has named new directors for federal government and pharmacy affairs.

NACDS said Friday that Colin Brainard will join the association as director of federal ­government affairs, effective Sept. 21. In the role, he will serve as congressional liaison on issues impacting pharmacy, with a focus on the House of Representatives. He also will provide counsel on advocacy strategies and tactics for legislative issues and develop and maintain relationships with government affairs counterparts in other pharmacy and stakeholder health organizations and coalitions to help advance chain pharmacy ­priorities.

Brainard previously was a senior policy adviser for Rep. Lynn Jenkins (R., Kan.), a member of the Ways and Means Committee. He also worked for Republican Sen. Richard Burr (R., N.C.) and was an intern for former Sen. Sam Brownback (R., Kan.). Brainard will report to Tom O’Donnell, vice president of federal government affairs at NACDS.

“As the lead health policy staffer working for a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, Colin has tremendous experience on health care issues and in navigating the policy and political arenas,” NACDS president and chief executive officer Steve Anderson said in a statement. “This experience will be particularly significant in Colin’s work in advancing NACDS’ efforts on pro-patient, pro-pharmacy issues on Capitol Hill.”

On Thursday, NACDS announced the appointment of Jason Ausili as director of pharmacy affairs. He joins NACDS from Target Corp., where he served as health quality leader.

Ausili is slated to start at NACDS on Sept. 28. Among his responsibilities will be oversight of the association’s efforts to optimize pharmacy care. He also will assist with emerging care models that advance member interests by actively engaging on value-based and performance initiatives to improve patient clinical outcomes.

In addition, Ausili will lead efforts to build and leverage relationships with schools and colleges of pharmacy in creating education programs and ensuring that future education accreditation standards align with evolving neighborhood care services. He also will assist the NACDS Foundation by working to advance its Faculty Scholars program, which trains associate professors in effective methods of community-based patient-care research.

Ausili will report to Kathleen Jaeger, senior vice president of pharmacy care and patient advocacy and president of the NACDS Foundation.

“Jason brings a wealth of theoretical and applied knowledge to the advancement of neighborhood care,” Anderson stated. “He is well-grounded in practical pharmacy operations and innovative clinical experience. Together, these skills will allow him to provide effective leadership on issues such as quality metrics and innovative value-based payment models.”