Summer 2026 Updates

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After another busy and invigorating spring session, we here at SCGC are taking some time to recuperate and plan out the rest of the year. We still have more events and activities lined up, but we need our dedicated membership to help. Please continue reading to find out ways you can get more involved!

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Mark your calendars for these Upcoming Webinars:

• Friday, 6/26, 12 pm: Hereditary Cancer Testing at the Point-of-Care: Improving Uptake and Outcomes by Brandie Heald Leach, MS, CGC 

  • Please register Here

• Wednesday, July 8, 12 pm: Genetic Discrimination Policy and the Impact on New Therapies by Greg Mohl, PhD 

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Membership ID Update Recap: 

You all should have received an email last week providing an update about some membership account issues. Our board is hard at work fixing this bug. As part of this process you may receive an email in the coming weeks from SCGC with the subject line: “Your interim member request was approved | Pending SCGC Profile”. This is NOT spam or a phishing attempt. To complete the reset of your account with your UNIQUE Owner Id, please do the following:

• Click the link to “Complete your SCGC Membership Profile”

• Login using the same email you used to login previously. As part of this process, we have reset your password to this temporary password: Password123!

• Complete filling out your account information and confirm your membership type. If you are unsure what membership you may qualify for please see our website for our Membership Categories.

• Change your password to a new, more secure one

• Once you have completed these steps your account will have been successfully reset! 

We really appreciate your time and patience during this update!

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Nominations for SCGC Board 2027

We are recruiting for the next generation of SCGC! We are looking for our next:

• President

• Treasurer

• Secretary 

• Membership Chair(s)

• Outreach Chair(s)

If you love SCGC and want to be a part of our community, please be on the look out for future nomination updates!

If you aren’t ready to serve in a leadership role but still want SCGC exposure, we are looking for Nominations Committee Volunteers. Any SCGC member can serve as part of this committee and assist us in vetting candidates for the above roles. If you are interested please email us at info@socalgc.org.

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DEIJ Mentorship Program: 

Dear SCGC Members,

The SCGC JEDI Committee is looking for genetic counselors who are interested in supporting the next generation of our profession through mentorship. Our mentorship program is designed to be flexible, on-demand, and meaningful. There is no set schedule and no year-long commitment. Whether you can offer a single conversation, review an application, provide interview guidance, or share your experiences navigating the field, your support can make a lasting impact.

Mentors can help with:

• Application review

• Interview preparation

• Personal statement feedback

• Research and project guidance

• Career exploration and professional development

  
  

By volunteering your time and expertise, you can help create a more equitable and inclusive pathway into genetic counseling while supporting prospective and current GC students.

Interested in becoming a mentor?

Learn more and sign up here: https://linktr.ee/SCGCJEDI

Thank you for helping build a stronger and more inclusive genetic counseling community.

Warmly,

SCGC JEDI Committee

Justice • Equity • Diversity • Inclusion

Also keep an eye out for more Book Club Reads with the DEI Committee!

The last meeting was June 17th, but look forward to more meetings soon.

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Past Events

A special shout out to our amazing conference committee for another spectacular annual conference this year! To the lovely views at the Omni, the delicious food, the interesting talks, and most of all the sense of connection we had, this was a conference to remember. 

We also want to throw back to the social events we had earlier this year. Thank you to everyone who came out to our regional spring socials. We tried our hand at birding this year, and it was a blast! You made these events so special, and we look forward to hosting many more future events later this year.

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Spring 2026 Updates

Presidential Updates:

“Our SCGC Board of Directors kicked off the year in January with our second in-person BOD meeting at the OC Library in Costa Mesa. We discussed our history, our organization’s progress, and the exciting goals that we aim to achieve this year and beyond. We welcomed several new board members, welcomed back those returning, and gave a big thank you to outgoing committee chairs and officers. We can’t wait to see what our wonderful committees and volunteers have in store this year for SCGC. Looking forward to seeing you all at the AEC in May!”

- Lauren Siems, President

"SCGC" spelled out in post-it notes describing SCGC's accomplishments in 2025, set on a calm ocean background

Annual Education Conference Updates:

The Southern California Genetic Counselors (SCGC) invites you to join us for our 8th Annual Education Conference (AEC)! Join us as we bring together dynamic speakers and presenters for a meaningful and engaging event designed for the Southern California genetic counseling community.

WHEN: Friday, May 8th, 2026

WHERE: Omni La Costa Resort & Spa

               2100 Costa Del Mar Rd, Carlsbad, CA 92009

Registration is now OPEN! We have several registration options for conference attendees. Please select your ticket carefully as we will not be issuing refunds. Registration is required to attend. No day-of registration will be available. We encourage attendees to register early as we have a limited capacity.

2026 AEC Registration Fees: 

SCGC Members:

           In Person or Virtual with CEUs:      $65

           In Person or Virtual without CEUs: $30

SCGC Non-Members:

           In Person or Virtual with CEUs:      $90

           In Person or Virtual without CEUs: $55

Current GC Students:

           In Person or Virtual:                        Free

Sponsors: 

           With CEUs:                                     $35

           Without CEUs:                                Free

Registration closes on Friday, April 24th, 2026 at 5:00PM PDT.

The conference presentations will also be broadcast LIVE via Zoom for those who register to attend virtually. Please visit the SCGC website to register and for more information about the SCGC 2026 AEC, including the preliminary program and information about CEUs.

Register Now!

"Call For Sponsors" in large text set on a scrapbook inspired background featuring a large photo of a camera and text that reads, "AEC 2026 Remembering our Past, Envisioning Our Future"

Interested in Sponsorship?

This year’s conference has multiple opportunities for sponsorship. If you are interested in becoming a sponsor, please email scgcsponsors@gmail.com.

Questions? Please email us at info@socalgc.org

Upcoming Webinars

It’s almost graduation season…which means webinars for April and May will feature research completed by recent and soon to be graduates from our local programs! 

Student Thesis Presentations

Date: 4/29 and 5/1

Time: 12pm PST

Registration information to be released soon!

Spring Socials!

With more hours of daylight and temperatures warming up, we are so excited to bring you four social events in the month of April to celebrate spring! Events are happening all over Southern California, with a variety of activities to participate in. Find one near you and sign up! 

Los Angeles

Bird Watching/Hike

Location: Ballona Wetlands Reserve

Date: Saturday, April 11

Time: 9:00am

LA Bird Watching Registration

Orange County

Newport Back Bay Loop Trail Hike

Parking: Peter and Mary Muth Interpretive Center

Date: Saturday, April 18th

Time: Meet up at 8:00am

OC Hike Registration

Inland Empire

Location: Hangar 24 (Riverside)

5225 Canyon Crest Dr UNIT 58, Riverside, CA 92507

Date: Thursday, April 16th

Time: 6:00pm

IE Happy Hour Registration

San Diego

Location: Carruth Wine Cellars at Liberty Station

2710 Historic Decatur Rd Barracks 17, San Diego, CA 92106

Date: Tuesday, April 21 

Time: 5:00pm

SD Happy Hour Registration

DEI Committee Updates:

Coming soon...

SCGC will be sharing an updated statement on Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Justice. This statement reflects an important evolution in our values and outlines how justice, accountability, and action guide our work as a professional community. Look for the full statement in a separate post later this month.

Book Club Announcement!

The DEI Committee is continuing their book club and the next book they’re reading is “The Gene” by Siddhartha Mukherjee. With so much to talk about, discussions are being split up into two sessions happening in April and June. Whether you've read a little or the whole book or not, participate however you're comfortable!

April 13th Book Club

Location: Zoom

Time: 5:00 pm PST

Register Here: LINK

June 17th Book Club

Location: Zoom

Time: 5:00 pm PST

Register Here: LINK

Scholarship Updates: 

At the end of 2025 we awarded Ammerica Barraza Saucedo with our second annual Prospective Genetic Counseling Student Scholarship.

Congratulations, Ammerica!

"I am honored to be a recipient of the 2025 SCGC Scholarship. As a first generation Latina in STEM and first time applicant, navigating the application process has been difficult. With the help of this scholarship, I was able to focus on preparing a strong application rather than worrying about the financial burden. I’ve chosen to focus on applying to programs that nurture my interest in offering accessible care to Spanish speaking patients. Like SCGC, I aim to increase patient access to genetic services through learning how communities like my own navigate accessing genetic counseling, whether through interpreter services or with a family member serving as an interpreter and advocate. Being chosen as a scholarship recipient serves as an affirmation in my path as a genetic counselor. I am equally grateful to all my mentors and colleagues in the field. Their support has fueled my commitment to changing the healthcare landscape, that is making it more equitable and joining the 4% of Spanish speaking genetic counselors."

- Ammerica Barraza Saucedo

If you would like to donate to our scholarship fund so that we can continue to supp

ort prospective students please visit our website:

Donate to SCGC's Scholarship Fund

Winter 2025 Updates

Happy Holidays from SCGC! 

May you have a wonderful, warm and cozy season. We look forward to returning next year with a full slate of new activities for our members!

Presidents Update:

Once again, a big thank you for another successful SCGC election season! We could not have done it without our wonderful volunteers, members, and leadership. The new board will be initiated next January with our annual board meeting and orientation to kickoff 2026. We are excited to see the torch of leadership handed off from the esteemed Rebecca LeShay Araujo to the acclaimed Lauren Siems Watson.

We are also excited to launch our new merch store. If you love SCGC and want to show it, follow the link to the store here!

SCGC Merch Store

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Secretary update:

We have completed the transition of our website forum to Groups. As mentioned in a previous email announcement, Groups works very similar to our previous forum. This has been a mostly smooth transition. However, it appears that some subscriptions did not carry over, and some members are not subscribed to the sub-groups associated with the previous sub-forums. Thus, we suggest that our membership check the Groups page on our website to make sure that they are following the sub-groups they would like to be subscribed to.

Please reach out to us if you have any issues or questions about Groups. We hope that you continue to use the Groups page as you have used our website forum in the past.

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Upcoming Events:

We are thrilled to express our gratitude to all SCGC members for your invaluable contributions to the success of the SCGC webinar series. For those who claimed CEUs for the 2025 Webinar series, please check your NSGC CEU Portal, as certificates should now be available.

We are excited to announce some dates for the upcoming 2026 Webinar series. Please mark your calendars:

• January 28th, 12-1 PM PT: “Beyond the Binary: What’s new in PGT” with Janine Gessner Mash, LCGC

• February 4th, 12-1 PM PT: A session with Devin Shuman, MS, LCGC

Details on how to register will follow!

In addition, SCGC's Annual Education Conference (AEC) is planned for Friday May 8th, 2026 in San Diego at the Omni La Costa Hotel. Stay tuned for additional details on registration!

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Past Events:

GC Appreciation Day

We had so much to celebrate this year, and there was no better way to acknowledge this than our annual GC Appreciation Day (formally known as GC Awareness Day)! Members from across the region came together to mingle and speed network. It was truly a special night.

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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!)

As we wrap up 2025 (the year has flown by so fast!), the holidays are upon us and they bring a great opportunity to spend quality time with family and friends. Specifically within our families, the holidays offer a chance to share family traditions, recipes, and stories that are a natural part of these types of gatherings. However, conversations regarding family health history is not something typically talked about during family gatherings despite the value that this information can provide individuals in terms of preventive and proactive healthcare management.

National Family Health History Day, which has been celebrated since 2004 in the United States during Thanksgiving Day, is an initiative that the U.S. Surgeon General proposed with the intention of encouraging families to discuss their health histories. As genetic counselors, we recognize that family health history is an important tool that we can use to provide patients with an appropriate risk assessment for different health conditions including but not limited to heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. With this in mind, we wanted to share some resources that can help facilitate this process for your patients as well as an article that underscores why this is an important topic in our field.

Resources:

My Family Health Portrait - Free online tool created by U.S. Surgeon General to help individuals collect their family health history. It enables the ability to create a digital family pedigree that you can save, update, and share with other family members as well as your healthcare provider.

Genetic Alliance - non-profit organization that offers two booklets, “A Guide to Family Health History” and “A Guide to Genetics in Health”, in both English and Spanish which provide education on why family health history is important and tips on talking to family members. The booklets have many parts that can be customized including personal stories about health, pictures of familiar faces, questions to ask relatives, disease information, local resources, and more.

Interesting Articles:

Palacios, A., Flodman, P., Steinhaus French, K., Smith, M., & Quintero‐Rivera, F. (2025). Ethno‐racial differences in the frequency of cancer reported from family pedigrees in the prenatal genetic counseling setting. Journal of Genetic Counseling, 34(3).

https://doi.org/10.1002/jgc4.70038

• This quantitative, retrospective study investigated whether there are significant differences in reporting of a family history of cancer among different ethno-racial groups in a Southern California prenatal genetics clinic, where the patient population is not referred based on a primary indication related to cancer. The study found that reporting of a family history of cancer was highest among White individuals relative to Latinx, Asian, and Black individuals. Cancer reporting rates in the Asian group (in comparison to the White group) were similar to the rates reported by the Centers for Disease and Control Prevention (CDC); however, reporting in the Latinx and Black pedigrees was less than would be expected based on population incidence. This suggests that a family history of cancer in some people of color (POC) may be truncated.

• Differences in reporting of a cancer family history within POC may be due to various reasons such as cultural differences in how health information is disclosed among different ethno-racial groups, possible provider bias, and barriers including reduced access to proper health care stemming from structural racism, medical mistrust, and language discordance. The findings from this study highlights the continued need for profound and substantial initiatives within healthcare institutions to address existing structural barriers that contribute to underreporting of cancer in POC. This, together with increasing awareness of the value of family cancer history, can ultimately help reduce some of the cancer health disparities that are prevalent in some of these ethno-racial groups in the United States.

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The Fridge

We are always looking for more reasons to celebrate our membership. Submit your or your colleagues’ 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:

Fridge Submissions

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See you all next year!