Dear Genetic Counselor Community,

Every three years NSGC develops a new strategic plan that will guide the direction of our organization’s goals and initiatives. During my State of Society address at the virtual Annual Conference I presented the 2022-2024 strategic plan, which is now published on the NSGC website. I am incredibly inspired and motivated by this strategic vision, and wanted to share how the plan came to be, a summary of its four pillars and next steps for turning strategy into action.

How was our strategic plan developed?

In preparation for our strategic planning retreat this summer, the Board of Directors went through a data review that brought together information from a multitude of sources — the Professional Status Survey; the Exeter Report and subsequent open comment period; a survey that was distributed to Board members, committee leaders and state genetic counseling organization leaders; as well as other data and information regarding the state of our society from strategic, operational and financial perspectives. With these data and perspectives from the genetic counseling community in mind, we then embarked on a two-day retreat with a professional facilitator. We dove into a structured visioning process, focusing not on what we could do over the next three years, but on what NSGC must do for the survival and advancement of our profession, what nobody else will do for us and what we have the resources and capacity to support. There were whiteboards, Google sheets and breakout rooms. There was deep and hard thought and conversation as we worked through multiple drafts to finalize a 2022-2024 strategic plan that will focus our efforts over the next three years.

What is the focus of our new strategic plan?

The new strategic plan has four pillars:

• Growth and Sustainability: In order to ensure that the genetic counseling profession continues to grow and diversify, we must positively influence reimbursement of our services, educate stakeholders about our role in delivering optimal patient outcomes and support standards and policy that promote access to high-quality services. Advocating for passage of our federal bill, engaging health systems and payers in covering our services and expanding state licensure are all strategies to support this pillar.
• Justice, Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (J.E.D.I.): We will develop, implement and operationalize a sustainable structure and culture that supports J.E.D.I. within NSGC. Initiating implementation of our forthcoming J.E.D.I. Action Plan, including adopting and tracking metrics to hold ourselves accountable over time, will be a focus of this pillar. We will also need to collaborate with genetic counseling and genetics partner organizations to recruit and retain diversity into the field. While the J.E.D.I. Committee and a new NSGC staff J.E.D.I. lead will help to shepherd and coordinate implementation of our Action Plan, it will ultimately be up to all of us in the genetic counseling community to embrace and effect positive change.
• Fostering Professional Excellence: NSGC will continue to serve as the professional hub for genetic counseling education and best practices, and be the center of thought leadership, research and innovation in the field — all while supporting and augmenting a diverse pipeline of leaders. This pillar is upheld by the work of many of our committees that create exceptional products such as practice guidelines, policy statements, educational resources and research pathways.
• Empowering Our Communities: During the next three years, we will be focusing on building communities of collaboration, cohesion and impact to foster a culture of belonging and trust that reaches across the organization and beyond. This pillar is, in part, internally facing, with the goal of enhancing the engagement and sense of belonging within NSGC, specifically supporting those who have been marginalized in the past. It is also externally facing, with a focus on deepening partnerships and collaborations to influence the equitable delivery of genetic services.

What are the next steps for putting strategy to action?

The strategic plan includes success statements and strategies, but it does not include details of how we are going to accomplish these goals. This level of detail will be encompassed by our yearly plan of work. After a robust Call for Volunteers (we received 310 applications!), 2022 committee vice-chairs have been selected and committees are now busily identifying new members for their committees. As we transition into the new calendar year, the NSGC Board and staff members will be collaborating with committee chairs to develop and finalize committee charges, which will formulate our 2022 organizational plan of work. We will also be working with SIGs, task forces and volunteer groups inside and outside of our organization to coordinate and initiate projects that drive our strategy forward.

In a time of overwhelm and burnout, it can be difficult to find inspiration and motivation. It is my hope that this new strategic plan, developed by and for our genetic counseling community, provides a needed spark — a vision of a bigger, bolder and more diverse and equitable future — that propels each of us forward. I hope that you can see yourself in this strategic vision and will contribute to making it a reality.

With enthusiasm,

Sara

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