How is it December?! The holiday season is upon us with all of the associated hustle and bustle, which includes the recently celebrated (American) Thanksgiving where I was reflecting on the ride this year has been. Thinking about what ‘The Advocate’ means, the underlying theme is exactly what the President role is at its core and what my career has been all about – advocacy for genetic counselor growth and development. I’ve seen and learned so much this year and have been able to have this experience that is incredibly unique. For my last article this year, I’m laying down some musings, learnings and observations within my advocacy experiences for NSGC and genetic counselors, and how this experience has led to learning more about myself.  

Observation #1: NSGC’s evolution 

Through this year, I can see the actual movement of our organization from a small to mid-sized society in the actions we have already taken that will shine even further in 2026 - how NSGC communicates with members, modernizing our approach to education production, and how we do better in evaluating our progress during the year to apply learnings in real time. NSGC is a professional organization built to be inclusive of genetic counselors who are here for professional development and community. We need to continue to focus on what NSGC’s ‘lane’ is, and that is focusing on the practice of genetic counseling in any venue this is happening – this is part of modernizing NSGC as well. NSGC is growing up! In professional organization age, 44 years is not middle age; we are still in our early years! It has been exciting to be helping with these changes. 

Observation #2: Genetic counselor evolution 

Many have heard me say this, but I have always disliked the term ‘non-traditional’ as it comes to genetic counselors not in direct patient care roles. I will stand on my soapbox and beat this drum ALL day. And it also is a term that divides our profession in a negative way, in my humble opinion, and has contributed to some negativity we have seen over the years between some in clinical/direct care roles and some who are not. We saw in the Professional Issues Panel at the conference last month how those trained as genetic counselors are gamechangers in so many areas, and it feels to me that we are at an inflection point of getting rid of that ‘non-traditional’ term. Can we just say ‘an important role for someone trained as a genetic counselor’? Maybe? 

Another potentially unpopular opinion is that I believe students CAN go into non-direct patient care roles after graduation as a first job and that is a great choice. Period. It isn’t a problem to do that as your first job, and then be able to go to a direct patient care position in the future, which differs from the sentiment some have heard from mentors over the years. We see this happening now, and we should applaud those new to our field for their contributions! We are in a different time from when the only major focus of genetic counseling was direct patient care. Genomic medicine is everywhere, and genetic counselors (and those trained as such) need to be ANYWHERE genomics is in the conversation. All of these roles are important contributors to our shared mission of state-of-the-art genomic healthcare for all. 

Observation #3: A hard truth (for now) 

A hard truth I saw firsthand is that some genetic counselors still have work to do in how we treat each other, specifically in how we are communicating with a broader audience. From an organizational culture perspective, it seems that there is a mindset amongst some that since many genetic counselors have commonalities in what brings us to the profession, we should also all think the same way in many aspects, and that if people disagree on divisive topics, it is a negative thing. We need to embrace the fact that our differences are what makes us all better, and that is what we are trying to do with the continued work to bring as much representation of various backgrounds and experiences into our membership ranks. These stances directly contradict each other, and this mentality will not promote our work in inclusion and belonging. 

Honestly it baffles me that the things we would never say or do to our patients, some are still doing to each other behind the safety of a screen.  I would love to see progress in people reaching out to each other to have conversations about important and divisive topics directly rather than being keyboard warriors. We are supposed to be excellent communicators as a core part of the GC skill set, so let’s use that greatness with each other! Hiring leaders and future colleagues are reading, watching, and looking for how people handle themselves in a broader environment. I’ve seen some things where, as a hiring leader, I would not consider hiring individuals who cannot handle their business in a mature way with their communication choices. As I said in my address last year, think before you send because what you say cannot be undone. Do not underestimate the power of your communication choices. I am glad to say that this is the minority of communications I see, but those that exist are powerful in a negative way.

Closing thoughts 

The President role truly is a culmination of what I love to do when it comes to advocating for all of you, for our profession and to do it on any stage that will have me. Working with the Board to execute our plan takes consistent preparation and work between monthly Board meetings and many other meetings with a multitude of audiences. NSGC and our members are on my brain all of the time. In this role, you also receive complaints, concerns, and anger from some in different situations. And that’s tough, and many situations this year, internal and external to NSGC, kept me up at night. My ‘day job’ is truly a microcosm of what the President role is since I lead a large team and navigate lots of politics internal and external to my own institution, so I was as best prepared as possible.  

Working with a positive and nimble mindset was everything this year, and I learned that we can accomplish so much together as long as we lift each other up no matter the circumstances, especially this year with upheavals in our nation. I saw people lifting each other up in our membership this year through our committee work and perseverance of our committee leaders collaborating with their members.    

From a personal perspective, I have grown SO much through the President-Elect and President years. I’ve learned a few things: I am braver, more innovative, and much tougher than I might have believed prior. Some of those elements grew through my tenure with NSGC leadership. As the saying goes ‘nothing that comes easy is worth having’, and I think that nicely captures the path to and through this presidency. I am a better leader, professional and person for this experience, and I have all of YOU to thank for that. 

If you take in nothing else from this article, I hope you take this home with you: no matter what your role may be within NSGC or in your daily professional lives, you have the power to make changes with small choices. You don’t have to have a major leadership role to do that, and in fact, the most important progress is made by those roles behind the scenes. The smallest butterfly in the kaleidoscope can cause a ripple effect. Harness your power and make it happen.  

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