Fall 2025 Updates

September is Sickle Cell Disease Awareness Month

September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month. Approximately 100,000 Americans live with sickle cell disease and we are proud to stand with the Sickle Cell Disease Association of America, Inc., this month and push for better treatments, education and outcomes for sickle cell warriors. 

📆 Upcoming Events:

Prospective Student Scholarship 2025

Applications for our prospective student scholarship open on October 1st. 

• Eligibility criteria:

• Students that are current or previous residents of Southern California in the last 6 years 

• Applying to genetic counseling programs for admission in Fall 2026. 

Interested students can read about our previous scholarship here: Scholarship Program | SCGC

DEI Book Club

“Disability Visibility - First Person Stories from The Twenty-First Century” by Alice Wong

• Monday, October 6th at 5:30p

• Register here: October DEI Book Club | SCGC

Board of Directors Meeting: OPEN MEETING!

Interested in hearing more about what the SCGC Board of Directors discusses? Looking to get more involved with SCGC? Please join us in our first ever OPEN Board of Directors meeting, where the first portion will be open to all SCGC members to join. 

• Tuesday, October 21 at 7:00pm PST

• Register to attend here: SCGC Board of Directors Open Meeting

Now accepting nominations for 2026-2028 Board of Directors! 🙋 🗳️ ✅

We are looking for creative and passionate individuals interested in helping lead our organization into 2026 and beyond! Currently we are looking for nominations for the following roles:

• President Elect

• Marketing Chair

• Education Chair

• Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Chair

If you are interested or would like to nominate a colleague, please complete our interest form by September 26th. If you have additional questions or would like to learn more about these roles please reach out to info@socalgc.org. 

If you are interested in serving on the nominating committee, please email info@socalgc.org with the subject line: “Nomination Committee Interest”. Members on the nominating committee will help in selecting candidates to serve on the board, and play a crucial role in the future of our organization, all while making a short-term time commitment this fall.

⏮️ Past Events:

Scholarship Fundraisers - August 2025

Friends and colleagues gathered around a table, attending the San Diego fundraising event

This past August the Scholarship Committee raised funds for our prospective student scholarships. We hosted events both on-line and in-person across Southern California. On behalf of the Scholarship Committee, thank you for your generosity! Because of you, we met our fundraising goal and will be able to continue offering scholarships to help prospective students with application costs.

If you were not able to join us during our fundraising campaign, but would still like to contribute to future scholarships you can scan the QR code or donate here: SCGC Scholarship Fund Donations 

CAGCC Inaugural Education Conference - September 18-19, 2025

Thank you to all of our in-person and virtual attendees for the inaugural CAGCC conference in Pismo Beach! We hope you enjoy connecting with your colleagues, and look forward to our next collaboration between the Southern California and Northern California genetic counseling organizations.

Reminder to attendees to please complete your conference evaluation by October 3rd if you are obtaining CEUs.

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!)

Hispanic Heritage Month (held annually from September 15th - October 15th in the United States) recognizes and celebrates all that Hispanic/Latinx/Latine individuals have contributed to American society and culture.  In honor of Hispanic Heritage Month, we wanted to share some resources and an article that highlight the influence that this group of individuals have in the genetic counseling field.

Resources:

SPLAGen Directory -  Created by the Latin American Professional Society for Genetic Counseling (SPLAGen), this directory includes information to find genetic providers across the United States and Latin America that provide clinical genetics care in Spanish and/or Portuguese.

La Casita - La Casita is a private, supportive space for genetic counseling students and recent graduates (within the past two years) who identify as Hispanic/Latinx/Latine that focuses on connection, community-building, and shared experiences throughout training and into early career. Even though it is hosted by the NSGC Spanish Development SIG, NSGC membership is not required to join La Casita and individuals of all skin tones, language proficiencies, abilities, sexes, and genders are welcome to join.

Article: 

Chavez-Yenter, D., Villalta, J., & Kaphingst, K. (2025). “Es Lindo, Pero Estamos Perdidos”—Characterizing Facilitators and Barriers to Clinical Genetic Testing for Latino Populations. Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities, 1-12.

https://doi.org/10.1007/s40615-025-02432-7 

• Summary: This study used semi-structured, qualitative elicitation interviews to identify relevant facilitators and barriers to genetic testing for a Latino-only cohort.  Respondents had overwhelmingly positive attitudes towards genetic testing, but many noted a lack of understanding of its purpose, results, and potential applications.  The findings from this study suggest a need for more outreach efforts to bring awareness about genetic testing among Latino communities and their healthcare providers in order to address disparities in genetic testing uptake for Latino individuals. 

🏆“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:

Ofir Feuer, Kyla Holmes not pictured

Ofir Feuer MS, CGC and Kyla Holmes MS, CGC

Journal of Genetic Counseling Publication

Title: AI-scending the scope: Perspectives on the integration and utilization of artificial intelligence and machine learning in genetic counseling graduate programs

Authors: Ofir Feuer, Kyla Holmes, Sarah Kane, Kathryn M. Curry, Daria Ma, Chloe A. Chatwin, Marie Chuldzhyan, Emily Quinn, Nicholas Gorman

Link: https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.70065

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 

Support for our Undocumented Colleagues

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: 

• Health Care and U.S. Immigration Enforcement: What Providers Need to Know - Physicians for Human Rights

• Guidance for Nurses and Health Professionals: Responding to ICE Agents Entering the Hospital - Ohio Nurses Association

• Immigration Enforcement Guidance for Health Centers | ACLU

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

• Immigration Preparedness in CA Higher Education Institutions

• Immigrant Rising - Resources for Educators

• What to do if an immigration-enforcement officer comes to your school? - California Department of Justice

General Resources:

1. Immigration Preparedness Toolkit | Immigrant Legal Resource Center | ILRC

2. CHIRLA - The Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights

3. Inland Empire Coalition for Immigrant Justice

4. OC Rapid Response Network

5. Justice for Immigrant Workers and Families - Clue Justice

6. Immigrant Defenders Law Center | Nonprofit immigration legal provider - Los Angeles

7. ACLU of Southern California

8. ACLU of San Diego and Imperial Counties

9. California Immigrant Policy Center

10. San Diego Rapid Response Network - Immigrant Resources Toolkit

Summer 2025 Updates from SCGC Board of Directors

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!