Meet Your Speakers

Bill Herbert (he/him)

Bill Herbert has been in the field of genetic counseling since 1977. Over the course of his career, he worked in various institutions across Southern California, including a Regional Center, LAC+USC Medical Center, Cedars Sinai Medical Center, a national laboratory, and a large health maintenance organization. His experience spans general genetics, prenatal genetics, and numerous specialty clinics, including cystic fibrosis, Down syndrome, neurofibromatosis, skeletal dysplasia, IVF, metabolic disorders, and research projects. He served on many national boards and played an instrumental role in shaping the profession of genetic counseling. As a founding member of both the NSGC and the SCGC, he was a pioneer in the field. Having truly “been around the block,” Bill Herbert is now retired.

Carrie Haverty (she/her)

Carrie Haverty is VP of Product at Mirvie, leading efforts to develop the Mirvie RNA platform using a simple blood test to reveal a pregnancy’s unique biology and predict complications months before they occur. Carrie earned her graduate degree in genetic counseling from the University of California Irvine. She started her career working in high risk prenatal care and focused on providing broad access to new diagnostic technologies. Her direct-clinical experience served as the foundation for leading-edge product development and commercialization of new technologies at Counsyl, Myriad, Miroculus, and Mirvie. Carrie is the 2025 NSGC President Elect having previously served on the Board of Directors, as Chair of the Membership Committee and various other volunteer roles since she was in grad school.

Amie Blanco (she/her)

Amie Blanco is the director of the Cancer Genetics and Prevention and Hereditary Cancer Programs in the Helen Diller Family Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California San Francisco.  Ms. Blanco earned her degree in genetic counseling at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston and The MD Anderson Cancer Center, where she completed an NCI fellowship in Cancer Prevention Education. She has spent the past 20+ years caring for patients at risk for hereditary gastrointestinal and related cancers and is widely recognized as an expert in this area.  Her current research focuses on the intersection of germline and somatic cancer genomics and implementation of alternative models of clinical cancer genetics care. 

Abby Sassaman (she/her)

Abby Sassaman is a genetic counselor with over a decade of experience in both clinical and industry settings. She currently works as a Medical Science Liaison at GeneDx, where she aims to advance the use of genomic technologies in clinical care. Her expertise spans rare disease diagnosis, variant interpretation, and the application of genomic data in real-world settings. She is deeply passionate about equitable access to genetic testing and is committed to ensuring that the benefits of genomic medicine reach diverse and underserved populations.

Kirsten Kelly (she/her)

Kirsten Kelly is an experienced Genetic Counselor with over a decade of expertise in the genetics and diagnostic laboratory space. She currently serves as a Medical Science Liaison for a diagnostic testing laboratory, where she bridges clinical and scientific knowledge to support healthcare providers and stakeholders. Kirsten’s background includes roles as a laboratory genetic counselor and genomic analyst, with specialized experience in rapid whole genome sequencing. Prior to her work in the lab setting, she provided direct patient care as a prenatal genetic counselor at a high-risk maternal-fetal medicine clinic. Her career began as a genetic counseling assistant, giving her a strong foundation in both clinical and laboratory genetics.

Colin Young (he/him)

Colin Young has been a variant assessment scientist at Ambry Genetics for 5 years, where he specializes in oncology. Colin completed his PhD at the University of Utah and was a post doc at the Huntsman Cancer Institute in Sean Tavtigian's lab. Colin is currently based out of Salt Lake City where he is a New York Times best selling author, a jazzercise instructor, and active circus performer. Some of the previous facts may or may not be stretching the truth... who can say?

Chloe Reuter (she/her)

Chloe Reuter received her MS in Human Genetics and Genetic Counseling from Stanford University in 2016. Currently she is a genetic counselor with the Stanford Center for Undiagnosed Diseases and the Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease. She also works closely in supervising and mentoring genetic counseling students. Her research interests focus on genetic counseling communication, new approaches to the diagnosis of rare disease, understanding the impact of genetic technologies on the patient experience, and equitable access to genetic testing. 

Tia Moscarello (she/her)

Tia Moscarello is a licensed and certified genetic counselor at the Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease (SCICD). She is the dedicated inpatient genetic counselor for the team, whose primary patient population is critically ill individuals with suspected genetic heart conditions. Tia is a Clinical Assistant Professor (Affiliated) at Stanford University School of Medicine: she is director of the cardiovascular genetics course, teaches counseling classes at the GC program, and is clinical supervisor for many GC students, residents and fellows. She has experience implementing the BATHE method in clinical practice, developing educational workshops on the BATHE method, and is on a team that received an R21 grant from theNIH to study its implementation in genetic counseling practice. She is also actively involved in NSGC as a member of the Practice-Based Competencies Task Force, and founder and past chair of the Inpatient SIG. 

MaryAnn Campion (she/her)

MaryAnn Campion's career has focused on genetic counselor education, starting as the founding program director at Boston University in 2003 and moving to Stanford University in 2016. She has a doctorate in Educational Leadership and Policy, and her dissertation focused on faculty vitality. Her research centers around genetic counselor training, psychosocial assessment, and professional wellbeing.

Elizabeth Pollard (she/her)

Beth Pollard is a research genetic counselor based in Mike Snyder's lab at Stanford University working on various genomics and multi-omics research studies and supervises students for the Stanford GC training program. She has previously worked as a clinical prenatal counselor and a research technologist at a pharmaceutical startup. Beth earned an MS in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University in 2020 and an MS in Molecular Biology at the University of Chicago in 2015.

Kayla Ruiz (she/her)

Kayla Ruiz graduated from the Stanford University Genetic Counseling Program in June of 2024. She now works as a Cancer Genetic Counselor at CommonSpirit Health in Colorado Springs, and as a Southern California native, has finally experienced four seasons! She has had the opportunity to participate in cancer support groups and work alongside multi disciplinary professionals. Her favorite part of her work is spending extra time creating opportunities for psychosocial conversations during sessions.

Victoria Suslovitch (she/her)

Victoria Suslovitch (Tori) was drawn to genetic counseling as a way to combine her interests in genetics, neurology, public health, and education. She received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Boston University, and is certified by the ABGC. She began her career as a Research Genetic Counselor in the Yu Laboratory at Boston Children's Hospital, in a program that designs and develops experimental therapeutics for children with rare neurogenetic diseases. Since moving to California, Tori has worked for Ambry Genetics -- first as a Genomic Science Liaison and now as a Medical Education Manager --  where she educates healthcare providers and lab personnel alike about genetics and genomics.

Misha Rashkin (he/him)

Misha Rashkin graduated from the Icahn School of Medicine Masters program in genetic counseling in 2013. He is a clinical genetic counselor in oncology at Stanford HealthCare with a decade of experience in clinical oncology, and has held roles in research, clinical, and private sector organizations. He specializes in hereditary malignant hematological conditions, including inherited predispositions to leukemias and bone marrow failure. 

Guadalupe Carvajal (she/her)

Guadalupe M. Carvajal is a bilingual and bicultural board-certified genetic counselor and researcher at the University of California, Davis Comprehensive Cancer Center. She brings over two decades of international experience in cancer genetics, genomic research, and clinical genetic counseling, with academic training in pharmaceutical chemistry, structural molecular biology, and human genetics. Originally from Colombia, she has worked across renowned U.S. and U.K. institutions, including the University of Oxford and Queen Mary University of London. Guadalupe has contributed extensively to research on hereditary cancer syndromes and health disparities in Latino populations, with numerous peer-reviewed publications. Her clinical work emphasizes culturally sensitive genetic counseling for underserved communities, and she is actively involved in projects such as Tu Historia Cuenta and the Kruger Research Program, aiming to improve genetic services through community-based approaches.

Allison Wong (she/her)

Allison Wong is a southern California native and graduated from the University of California, Irvine genetic counseling program. In her current role as a cancer genetic counselor, she leads a walk-in program for expedited genetic testing and a skin punch biopsy program for testing of cultured fibroblasts across multiple hospitals in Orange County. She has served on her organization's JEDI team since it's inception and is passionate about community outreach.

Setareh Zandihaghighi (she/her)

Setareh Zandihaghighi (she/her) is a bilingual Iranian American genetic counselor specializing in cancer genetics. Born and raised in Iran, she immigrated to the U.S. to pursue her education, completing her undergraduate degree at the University of California, Irvine (UCI) and earning her master’s degree in genetic counseling from the University of Michigan. She currently practices in Southern California, where she provides care to a highly diverse patient population and leads initiatives to expand same-day access to genetic counseling within her community hospital system. She is deeply committed to advancing equity in healthcare, with a particular focus on serving minoritized communities—including Middle Eastern and North African populations. Her graduate thesis and ongoing projects through her clinical work and an NHGRI fellowship center on increasing access, cultural relevance, and inclusion in genetic services for these groups. She has held multiple leadership roles, including serving as president of a prospective student organization, and is passionate about mentorship and reducing barriers to the profession. She is currently leading efforts to expand free, high-quality resources for aspiring genetic counselors—ensuring that the next generation of professionals is better supported, more diverse, and more empowered to succeed.

Rishona Lavy

Rishona Lavy is a genetic counselor with 17 years of experience, including seven years in prenatal clinics and the past decade in the laboratory space. She has had the good fortune to work at three California-based laboratories that have helped shape the field of genomic medicine. In these roles, Rishona has focused on variant interpretation for NGS panels, exome, and now genome sequencing, as well as training, SOP development, and workflow optimization. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, Rishona now calls Southern California home. Outside of work, she enjoys hiking, sports, Mahjong, family time, and travel.

Rebekah Barrick (she/her)

Rebekah Barrick is a board certified and licensed genetic counselor specializing in metabolic disorders at the Children's Hospital of Orange County (CHOC).  She oversee's multidisciplinary clinics, including those focused on neuro-metabolic conditions, X-linked adrenoleukodystrophy (X-ALD), and undiagnosed diseases. Rebekah is a site coordinator for the CHOC-UCI NORD Center of Excellence, the UCI-CHOC UDN program, and coordinator and analyst for the UCI-GREGoR project.  She is co-chair for the NSGC metabolic SIG, supervisor for students from multiple genetic counseling programs in Southern California, curator for the ClinGen Leukodystrophy and Leukoencephalopathy GCEP, and writer for the ABGC Practice Exam Writing Committee.

Dyer Crouch (he/him)

After finishing a tour in the Navy, Dyer Crouch had the good fortune to become employed in the early computer industry and became an autodidact in the field. Over the course of 43 years, he has built a career as a Principal Programmer Analyst and Full Stack Developer. Along the way, Cyer has also explored his passion for the ocean by becoming a SCUBA dive instructor, surfer, and sailor. He has one dog, two adult sons, and a wife — who happens to be a genetic counselor (not necessarily in order of significance).