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Image Description: A monarch butterfly spreading it's wings on a yellow flowering plant.
Image Description: A monarch butterfly spreading it's wings on a yellow flowering plant.

As Southern California Genetic Counselors, we are an organization dedicated to advocating for the genetic counseling profession and access to genetic counseling services. We acknowledge that in the last few weeks, our undocumented patients, colleagues, co-workers, and students may be living in fear for their safety and the safety of their loved ones. We stand in solidarity with the community leaders, grassroots organizations, and citizens working to protect immigrant communities across southern California. Our code of ethics as genetic counselors asks us to “provide genetic counseling services to [our] clients regardless of [our] clients’ abilities, age, culture, religion, ethnicity, language, sexual orientation and gender identity.” (NSGC Code of Ethics, Section II) As allied healthcare professionals, we must also do so regardless of immigration status. 


Southern California has witnessed a significant increase in the amount of arrests made by immigration officers on undocumented immigrants residing in the U.S. In response to the immigration raids targeting predominantly Hispanic and Latin populations, the people of Los Angeles have demonstrated an outpouring of support for their community. We have seen many cities across southern California and the country show up to protect their undocumented neighbors


Immigration raids are not exclusive to California. There has been an overwhelming increase in immigration-related arrests across the country. Immigrants are being targeted while at courthouses,  on the street, at community hospitals, and even at church. The impact of these raids has left documented immigrants concerned for their safety. The threat of arrest and deportation without due process, even in once considered “safe” spaces has led to undocumented individuals to cancel important healthcare appointments


Our profession of genetic counselors is enriched by our undocumented colleagues and DACA students. We acknowledge that there are many institutional policies that make it challenging for undocumented students to pursue this profession. We encourage all genetic counselors to learn how they can better support their undocumented/DACA students or patients by reviewing the resources put together by the Undocumented GC Network.


We encourage our colleagues to review the resources we provided below on how we can show our support to our patients and community members. 


For our colleagues that work in a hospital or clinic setting, we invite you to review the following resources on how you can protect your patients from immigration enforcement: 


For our colleagues working in academia, we hope that you will find these resources useful: 


General Resources:



Happy Pride Month from SCGC!

We are committed to supporting our colleagues and patients in the LGBTQ+ community and continue to strive for better support and access for all. Please see our statement and list of resources here


Presidential Update:


Announcing Recruitment for the Nominating Committee for the 2026-2027 SCGC Board of Directors


Here’s to the start of Summer 2025! While the weather is warming up, so is your Board of Directors. Did you know summer is when we begin planning to elect next year’s board members?


As Past-President, it is my job to form a committee to solicit nominations for November’s election of a new President-Elect (for a 3-year term), and for the DEI and Education Chairs (for 2-year terms). Joining me from the Board will be one or both of our Membership Chairs, Nicole Choy and Jamie Phan.


We need 2 or 3 members of our SCGC community to join the board members of the Nominating Committee in a quest to solicit and review nominations for the board, interview applicants, and create the absolute best slate for the November election. Being a committee member is a great way to learn more about SCGC and help to shape its future.


The committee will have its first meeting in July to outline the process before we announce that nominations are open. In September/October, we will review the nominations, interview the candidates, and form a slate. The election will be in November and close before Thanksgiving. Three to four meetings between July and October will be needed.


If you are interested or have questions, please contact Joan Oliver at info@socalgc.org.


Looking forward to hearing from you soon,


Joan


Upcoming Events:

  • Upcoming Webinars

    • Raising awareness and education of genetic testing and counseling through fotonovelas among Latina women at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer 

      • Date: Monday, July 8, 2025, 12-1 PM, PST

      • Speaker: Clara Barajas

    • Cardiogenetics

      • Date: Friday, August 29, 2025, 12-1 PM, PST

      • Speaker: Judy Fan

    • Fall: Genetic Counseling Supervision workshop- stay tuned

  • Upcoming Conference

    • Joint Northern California Coalition of Genetic Counselors x Southern California Genetic Counselors Conference



Registration is open! Join your colleagues at the Cliffs Hotel and Spa in Pismo Beach for a joint education conference September 18-19. 


Registration and event details can be found here.








  • Upcoming Fundraisers: 


  • The Scholarship Committee will be fundraising throughout the month of August to raise funds to help prospective genetic counseling students gain access to education. Please come out and support your community at an event near you!

  • Tentative Dates and Locations:

    • Los Angeles - Happy Hour

      • Date: August 14th

      • Location: TBD

      • Time: 6-8 PM

    • Orange County - Family Fun Run/Walk 

      • Date: August 17th

      • Location: OC Great Park

      • Time: 9am-12pm 

    • Inland Empire - Details to be announced soon

    • San Diego - Details to be announced soon

  • Fundraiser Volunteers- if you are interested in helping out with fundraising events please contact info@socalgc.org


Past Events:


If you missed out on our past events, no worries! Here is a brief recap:


ACMG Happy Hour at Native Son LA





SCGC Hikes Across SoCal: Griffith Park and Quail Hill Loop Trail


Thank you everyone who came out! Stay tuned for more fun ways to get involved, and hope to see you all next time



Call for Volunteers:

Membership Committee is seeking volunteers in the Inland Empire and San Diego areas to assist in hosting local happy hours and creative social events throughout the year! If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to info@socalgc.org




DEI Newsletter: 

Welcome to the DEI corner of our quarterly blog! We are excited to share resources, latest articles, and latest posters/platforms/achievements by our SCGC members. Please reach out to info@socalgc.org if you would like to share any of these with us for our next post (students as well!)


Resources:

NSGC Speaker Guide - Developed by the NSGC Education Committee, this handbook provides recommendations for speakers on how to make presentations and other educational activities effective, inclusive and accessible for all learners.


GCPSN - Genetic Counseling Prospective Student Network is a group of prospective genetic counseling students working to create a supportive and informative network for other prospective students, including hosting community outreach efforts alongside the SCGC outreach chairs.


Trending Publications:

Schelhaas and Shuman (2025). It’s Time to Start Trusting Our Disabled Genetic Counselors. Perspectives. 2.28.2025 https://perspectives.nsgc.org/Article/its-time-to-start-trusting-our-disabled-genetic-counselors 

  • Summary: Two genetic counselors with rare genetic conditions ask us to reflect on why we view the disabled body so differently and to trust that Disabled genetic counselors are able to make choices about their own career paths based on their personal and professional interests and experiences, and ask ourselves what we can do to address the ingrained ableist biases in our graduate program and/or workplace.


Schechner, J. et al. (2025) Transgender and gender diverse patients' experiences with pregnancy-related genetics discussions: A qualitative study. Journal of Genetic Counseling,  https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.2018

  • Summary: Study investigating TGD individuals' experiences with pregnancy-related genetic discussions, focusing on the challenges they face and strategies for improving care.



“The Fridge” 


We would like to celebrate the accomplishments of our members and highlight the work they have done this past year to elevate the field of genetic counseling in Southern California:









Emmeline Chang, MS, CGC

BRCA Symposium

Poster: Navigating CHECK2 Variants with Discrepant

Classifications




Jacob Comeaux, MS, CGC

BRCA Symposium

Poster: Adherence to Breast Cancer Screening Recommendations for Women with Pathogenic or Likely Pathogenic Variants in Moderate-Risk Genes or Empirically Increased Breast Cancer Risk




Nathan Hassel, MS, CGC and Jamie Phan, MS, CGC

ACMG

Poster: Predictive Accuracy of Liquid Biopsy for Comprehensive Genomic Profiling of Solid Tumors





Do you and/or your colleague(s) have an accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated? We want to hear from you! Submit your accomplishments so we can put it on “The Fridge”! Selected submissions will be featured in the next quarterly SCGC blog post.


Send us your reason to celebrate here!


📅 Mark Your Calendar for These Exciting Upcoming Events!

Upcoming Webinars:

  • Genetic Counseling and Policy

    Date:  Tuesday, April 8th 2025 

    Speaker: Jennifer Lieb, MS, CGC 


  • GINA Discussion

    Date:  Wednesday, May 14th 2025 

    Speaker: Professor Anya Prince (Iowa College of Law)


  • Family health beliefs and cascade genetic testing in Asian families with hereditary cancer risk: “Okay, now what?”

    Date: Friday, June 13th 2025 

    Speaker: Leena Tran, MS, CGC  


  • Raising awareness and education of genetic testing and counseling through fotonovelas among Latina women at risk for hereditary breast and ovarian cancer

    Date: Monday, July 28th 2025

    Speaker: Clara Barajas, PhD


  • Cardio-Genetics 

    Date: Friday, August 29th 2025 

    Speakers: Judith Fan, MS, CGC & Eugene King H. Wong, MSc, CGC

SCGC Meet-up at ACMG 2025                            Wednesday, March 19th at 7pm
SCGC Meet-up at ACMG 2025 Wednesday, March 19th at 7pm


Attending ACMG 2025 in

Los Angeles? 🥂


Spend some time with old friends and make a few new ones at our SCGC Meet-Up on Wednesday, March 19th at 7pm. Look for our SCGC Board Members at Native Son, just an 18 minute walk from the LA Convention Center!


📍 832 South Olive Street

Los Angeles, CA 90014









SAVE THE DATE! 🤝Joint Northern California Coalition of Genetic Counselors x Southern California Genetic Counselors Conference


On September 18-19th SCGC and NCCGC are meeting at the Cliffs Hotel and Spa in Pismo Beach for a joint education conference. Please join us for this two-day event full of learning and connection.


DEI Newsletter


Welcome to the DEI corner of our quarterly blog! We are excited to share resources, latest articles, and latest posters/platforms/achievements by our SCGC members. Please reach out to info@socalgc.org if you would like to share any of these with us for our next post (students as well!)




Resources:

NSGC 2025 J.E.D.I Awareness Calendar - Created by the 2022 NSGC Membership Equity & Inclusion Implementation (E.I.I.) Subcommittee with review and input from the 2023 J.E.D.I. Stewardship Committee, this resource includes a list of holidays and cultural celebrations and awareness dates that can be referred to when scheduling meetings or events and to build inclusivity across NSGC’s membership.


Trending Publications: 


Summary: Current genetic testing for inherited retinal dystrophies (IRDs)trends toward higher diagnostic yield and identification of P/LP variants in patients identifying as White compared to other races. In order to prevent negative impacts on access to gene-targeted trials and treatments for non-White patients, wider genetic testing in diverse populations is required to create comprehensive catalogs of gene variants associated with IRDs.


  • Tran, L. et al. (2025) Family health beliefs and cascade genetic testing in Asian families with hereditary cancer risk: “Okay, now what?” Journal of Genetic Counseling,  https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.1891 


    Summary: This study represents an important contribution to the literature about cascade testing among an underrepresented group. Shared family health beliefs about genetic testing may be particularly relevant for this community and these findings can inform strategies to increase cascade genetic testing in Asian families.


    Leena Tran MS, CGC will be hosting our June 13th webinar!


Calling All Volunteers! 🙋🏽‍♀️

Want to get more involved? SCGC is looking for interested volunteers to help achieve the goals of our organization. Check out our current volunteering opportunities:


  • If you have participated in our monthly webinars in the past or have an interest in genetic counseling education, the Education Committee is looking for volunteers! Please reach out to socalgceducation@gmail.com for more details about available volunteer opportunities. 


  • Interested in connecting with more members across SCGC? The Membership Committee is looking for volunteers from the different regions of Southern California to assist in hosting local happy hours, social events, and community programming for the larger SCGC membership. If you are interested in volunteering, please reach out to info@socalgc.org.


Introducing “The Fridge”

Do you and/or your colleague(s) have an accomplishment that deserves to be celebrated? Submit your accomplishments so the SCGC membership can put it on “The Fridge”! 🏆 Selected submissions will be featured in the next quarterly SCGC blog post.


Send us your reason to celebrate here: https://forms.gle/Fb957H2WS9f58ZRb9 







© 2019 Southern California Genetic Counselors 

501(c)(3) Nonprofit Organization

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