Hello SCGC Members! Starting this year, the Board will be periodically updating you on what we’re working on. Here’s what SCGC has in store for 2022:
Lauren Gima (Community Outreach Chair) & Nydia Santiago Neal (Diversity, Equity & Inclusion Chair) have been working for the past 6 months with the Genetic Counseling Student Prospective Student Network (GCPSN) to connect with local area community college clubs and career advisors to organize "Intro to Genetic Counseling" presentations. Our goal is to increase awareness of the genetic counseling career path to underrepresented student populations. Please reach out to us if you are interested in hosting a talk!
Rebecca Leshay joins the Board of Directors in the new position of Education Chair! We have sent out a needs assessment to better understand how to focus our efforts, and hope to have at least one event later this year. We are forming the Education Committee to help plan these activities, so please reach out if you are interested in volunteering and being considered!
The Annual Education Conference is right around the corner – Friday, May 13! Attend in person or virtually. Check out the preliminary program.
Here’s a sneak peek from Naomi Wagner’s presentation on emerging gene-based therapies: “My talk will review the status of gene-based treatments for inherited conditions and will also discuss some important counseling considerations to help genetic counselors answer questions like, ‘If the COVID-19 vaccine was developed so quickly, why can't we have an RNA treatment for my condition?’”
Conference Co-Chairs: Annie Baxter & Taylor Berninger; Program Committee Co-Chairs: Hilary Kershberg & Emily Parkhurst
Our Board of Directors Officers, Stacey Wong (President), Michelle Fox (Past-President), Bill Herbert (Treasurer), and Lauren Siems (Secretary), have all been hard at work setting the foundation and infrastructure to set our future SCGC leadership up for success. From creating the next Nomination Committee for 2022 elections, to facilitating goal setting for the BOD Committees, to organizing finances vital for the AEC and SCGC operations, the executive board is enthusiastic for this year!
By early 2022, SCGC organized membership through our website so that members can connect with one another and update their own contact information. We are proud of our 170 Full Members, 29 Student Members, and 12 Associate Members who have created profiles at socalgc.org, and we’re looking to grow! Anyone who is interested in becoming a member of SCGC can create a member profile here. Members get access to Forum posts about job openings and community resources, with more perks coming in the future! Contact Membership Chair Ariela Emery with any questions via chat at socalgc.org.