As summer winds down and the beginning of the school year is on the minds of kids both big and small, this signifies the start of a busy season! In NSGC’s year, one of those upcoming events includes the annual Call for Volunteers, opening on September 2.

Are you looking for new ways to impact our profession? Making new connections? Finding new inspiration as you progress through your career? The Call for Volunteers is a great opportunity to put your name in the ring for a wide variety of committee roles. Here are some of the options that you will see!

• There are options for ‘ad hoc’ work - different types of activities that arise through the year where volunteers and NSGC staff reach out when help is needed.  
• If you want to be considered for specific committee work, you can read the descriptions written by the committee leaders to learn the type of activities and projects each committee does and where you can get involved.
• We also are looking for those interested in Vice Chair (VC) positions with all of our committees! Even if you are earlier in your career and thinking ‘I couldn’t have enough experience to be a leader yet’ - do not assume that is true! We want the perspectives of ALL candidates, including those early in career, in our leadership pipeline.  
  • Carrie, our President-Elect, will be convening a small group that includes members at large, to evaluate all Vice Chair applications gathered from the Call for Volunteers to slate our 2026 Vice Chairs. 

We also have opportunities to shape the future of our society by becoming part of the Nominating Committee who slates our Board of Directors each year. Apply for this role to see how we bring in new Directors at Large, President, and Secretary/Treasurer Elect, to compliment the existing Board members and ensure our overall Board is  as representative of different facets of our membership as possible.  Two NSGC members-at-large are pulled from those interested, and they join two current Board members, as well as the current President and Immediate Past President to make up the Nominating Commitee each year. 

To ensure a fair process for selecting our leadership, we aim to create a Nominating Committee that reflects diverse member perspectives. This small group then completes anti-bias training and engages in thoughtful, multi-week discussions to evaluate candidates from all angles—balancing representation with leadership strength. As the Chair of this committee in 2026, I hope this article reaches some of you out there who want to join me in this rewarding process! 

Speaking of new Board members, the 2026 Board of Directors slate ratification was sent out to membership recently! Please take a moment to vote on this slate compiled by our 2025 Nominating Committee who evaluated many excellent applications and made tough decisions to get to this excellent group of Board nominees.  

In this busy change of season, we also want to congratulate all of our members in genetic counselor student education who are welcoming their incoming student cohorts! You all shape the incoming generation of genetic counselors who will feed the volunteer pipeline that makes our profession and society go round. Cheers to a great academic year ahead with as you bring in our future! And to all of you out there with children going back to school, celebrate the fact you got through the summer logistics challenges. We made it!  

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