Below, please find some selected “alumni spotlights” that highlight
the personal and workplace experiences of some of the NU genetic counseling
program alumni. We hope that these profiles of selected leaders from our program
will give you a better sense of the people who have attended our training
program, how they got interested in the profession, and their interests and
experiences since then.
Debra Duquette – Class of 1992
Dawn Allain - Class of 1993
Leslie Cohen – Class of 1993
Kelly Ormond - Class of 1994
Aimee Tucker Williams Class of 1997
Patti Mills Class of 1996
Claire Singletary Class of 1998
Scott Weissman Class of 2002
Debra Duquette – Class
of 1992 (taken from genetic counseling alumni newsletter –
Winter 2004-2005)
Describe
your current professional roles?
My current professional role is the genomics coordinator for the Michigan
Department of Community Health (MDCH). I have found that public health genomics
is a new and exciting area with tremendous opportunities for genetic counselors.
Unlike my past genetic counseling positions, I currently have no clinical
responsibilities. Despite this lack of clinical involvement, I have found
that this professional position involves even more communication with genetic
counselors, medical professionals, chronic disease organizations, insurance
providers, laboratories, educators, industry, and the public. Much like all
areas of genetic counseling, this position involves “juggling”
multiple tasks. My time is primarily focused on a 5-year cooperative agreement
that the MDCH received from the Department of Health and Human Services-Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention to integrate genomics into state and local
public health activities. My primary professional roles involve administration
of this cooperative agreement and coordination of the other genomic team members’
activities. Other responsibilities include writing about genomics, participating
in chronic disease advisory/planning meetings, organizing meetings and guest
speakers, and conducting and providing assistance with multiple projects.
I have also recently been named as the co-chair of the Chronic Disease Directors
(national organization), Genetics Planning Committee.
What is the most rewarding and most challenging part of your new position?
I think that the most rewarding part of this new position is the focus on
PRIMARY PREVENTION. In my past roles, I often felt that the genetic counselor
was one of the last points of contact/referral for a patient/family in need
of services. For instance, in pediatric genetics, the referral to genetics
for a child with dysmorphic features and/or developmental delay often occurs
after the family has already met with multiple other health professionals
(i.e., pediatrician, family practice physician, pediatric specialists, etc.).
In my new position, the focus is on risk assessment BEFORE the onset of chronic
disease symptoms with targeted PREVENTION messages (such as healthy lifestyle
choices). I believe that the chronic disease focus enables more of the population
to FIRST learn about the importance of family history (such as cardiovascular
disease, diabetes, cancer, asthma, osteoporosis and dementia) while promoting
the message of healthy lifestyles.
Initially, the most challenging part of my position was learning the public
health terms, (such as “infrastructure assessment”, “cooperative
agreement”, “stakeholder”, and “logic model”.)
The current challenge is attempting to practically apply genomics NOW to public
health activities. Since this is all new territory, it is not possible to
check a reference article or “how to” book. After so many years
in reproductive genetics with the focus on an individual and their family
and a relatively short-term of contact, it has been a real challenge to organize
and work on projects that will take YEARS to complete and affect MANY people
rather than individual people. My current motto is “live and learn”.
What genetic counseling skills have been particularly useful to you in
your current position?
I believe that Northwestern University’s genetic counseling program
fosters many of the skills that are important t
succeed in public health. In fact, the Michigan Department of Community Health
(MDCH) has had the benefit of two other graduates from Northwestern University,
Carrie Curell-Lango (’97) and Pam Clouser-McCann (’97). Carrie
currently is the clinical genetics liaison/project officer at MDCH. Pam previously
held my position as the adult genetics/genomics coordinator at MDCH, and was
instrumental in writing the proposal that enabled MDCH to receive the CDC
cooperative agreement. Without Pam’s hard work and enthusiasm, my position
may not exist today. Pam is currently pursuing a doctorate in public policy
with an emphasis on genetics at the University of Michigan. I would like to
extend a special thank you to Pam!
The genetic counseling skills that have been particularly useful in this
current position are communicating, listening, prioritizing, multitasking,
organizing, and writing. Other useful genetic counseling skills for this position
include the ability to work well on a team, knowledge of multiple areas of
health care, and the talent of building collaborations. Genetics counselors
are also the experts in risk assessment and developing a process to apply
complicated information in a practical manner, which are vital to this current
professional position.
What is a fun fact about you that your fellow NU alums may not know?
I have much to be thankful for in my life. However, much of my life is related
to my career as a genetic counselor. I have been fortunate to be a bridesmaid
for two of these genetic counselors, Joan Ehrhardt and Kerri-Lynn Lockwood
(both are graduates from the University of South Carolina, ’91), and
Godmother to Joan’s first-born, Hannah. As a bridesmaid for Kerri-Lynn’s
wedding, I met my husband, Tom, who was a groomsman in the wedding. Tom is
Kerri-Lynn’s husband’s brother. So, yes, two brothers are in fact
married to genetic counselors!
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Dawn Allain - Class of 1993 (taken
from www.nsgc.org; 9/2003)
Dawn Allain
is an outgoing, energetic individual who recounts that her passion in childhood
was horses. Fortunately, the NSGC President instead turned her passion to
genetics. She credits Mr. Harper, her high school biology teacher, with piquing
her curiosity about the field.
The impetus that sparked Dawn's fascination with genetics was the sophomore
year fruit fly biology experiment. After Mr. Harper suggested Dawn research
career opportunities in genetics, she happened upon genetic counseling.
Additionally, Dawn recalls the impact that one of her best friends had on
her career choice. Dawn's childhood friend, Lynn, has cystic fibrosis (CF).
Seeing Lynn in her mist tent was just a routine part of sleepovers for Dawn,
Lynn and their sisters-four close friends.
Dawn was impressed by the ability of her friend's family to cope with integrating
a chronic illness into their daily lives. As Dawn learned more about genetic
counseling, one aspect of the profession that appealed to her was the role
of providing psychosocial and supportive counseling to patients. These experiences
helped Dawn realize that genetic counseling was essentially the perfect career
choice.
From sophomore year of high school on, Dawn's sole mission was to become
a genetic counselor. After graduating from the University of New Hampshire
with a biology degree followed by a two-year stint doing cancer research at
Tufts Medical School, Dawn attended the genetic counseling training program
at Northwestern University.
After obtaining her Master's degree, Dawn worked as a prenatal genetic counselor
in New York City and then accepted a position at Cook County Hospital in Chicago,
the institution that inspired television's "ER". High points of
Dawn's experiences there included helping to start a Huntington's Disease
program and launching a cancer screening program for at-risk minority groups.
Low points included being trapped in an elevator on more than one occasion!
In 1998, Dawn decided it would be cooler by the lake and accepted a position
at Children's Hospital of Wisconsin. At her position in Milwaukee, Dawn wears
many professional hats. The question really is, what doesn't Dawn Allain do?
Dawn is something of a metabolic genetics guru and has been actively involved
in implementation of expanded newborn screening in Wisconsin. Given her love
of patient advocacy and education, much of her time was spent educating physicians
and developing fact sheets for families, which helped to alleviate their anxiety.
As clinical coordinator of the hospital's metabolic program, Dawn is involved
with the lysosomal storage disease treatment center, and her role includes
assisting in the enzyme replacement clinical trials for Fabry disease. She
organizes yearly patient advocacy meetings and also established a Gaucher
disease support group within the local community.
Aside from her expertise with metabolic disorders, Dawn also specializes
in seeing patients with known or suspected mitochondrial disorders. Dawn is
fascinated by this area of genetics because, "It's a whole different
animal from other genetic disorders. I spend a lot of time with families helping
them cope on a day-to-day basis with all of the different issues that arise.
And there are so many disbelievers, including other medical professionals,
friends and families who just don't buy that the child has a mitochondrial
disorder." Dawn is working hard to change these misconceptions -- she
was on the advisory committee for a local chapter of the United Mitochondrial
Disease Foundation, has participated in and facilitated a local support group,
and designed a family packet of educational materials that is given to all
new patients. Dawn considers her involvement with this group of disorders
to be one of her loves.
"I think that my biggest interest when it comes to clinical care-and
I think it all goes back to Lynn-is this integration of genetic disease in
families. So I spend a lot of my time ensuring that families have appropriate
support services."
“I share my devotion to the profession and encourage [students] to
become actively involved in the NSGC. I share lots of stories from my own
clinical experience – and the lessons I learned from patients and colleagues
along the way. I try to model the importance of keeping your sense of humor
and having balance in your life.”
Considering Dawn's level of dedication and commitment to her patients and
the profession, Dawn's accomplishments are amazing, especially considering
that she does not currently work full time. When asked how she has time to
see patients at risk for hereditary cancer syndromes, teach bioethics to medical
students, hold a faculty appointment at the Medical College of Wisconsin and
pursue licensure for genetic counselors in her state, Dawn's response was,
"In Wisconsin we have 8 day weeks!"
Needless to say, Dawn's husband is extremely supportive and would like to
see NSGC excel as much as Dawn would. "Then he wouldn't have to explain
to everyone what his wife does for a living-they would just know!" There
is hope that "genetic counseling" will be a household word by the
time Dawn's 15-month-old daughter is able to understand what her mother does
at work.
"We have a ways to go to achieve that recognition of being a well-known
profession, even among other health care professionals, yet we have come so
far very quickly for a young profession. However, we need members to get involved
to continue to move that goal forward."
In her presidential year [2003-2004], Dawn wants to see NSGC continue to
excel and ensure that the organization is in a position of strength to take
advantage of new challenges and opportunities in healthcare.
"I love our profession; I love to see how we are evolving... I want
to continue to see it move in a positive direction." Dawn is one of the
many people moving the profession forward, but one with quite a hat collection.
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Leslie Cohen – Class of 1993
(taken from genetic counseling program alumni newsletter – Spring 2004)
What professional accomplishment are you particularly proud of?
Although I have served on the boards of both NSGC and ABGC, my proudest moment
(so far) has been receiving the Region IV Leadership Award in 2002. This award
recognized the time and effort I gave to NSGC and only within 9 years of graduating!
When I think of the fellow recipients of these leadership awards, they are
genetic counselors who have been in the field for many years. For me to be
given this award relatively early in my career makes me realize that I really
have done a lot in a short time!
How has involvement with genetic counseling students impacted your career?
I have had the pleasure to work with students from the Northwestern program
and currently with the Case Western Reserve program. I love working students
as they keep me fresh in how I think about what I do on a daily basis. Without
students, you see a patient somewhat in a vacuum and no one hears how you
counsel or what you say and there is no feedback. When a student is observing
a session and you debrief afterward, you reassess how you are counseling,
what you say. I also enjoy mentoring students transitioning into their careers.
It’s fulfilling helping students with their CVs and on their job search.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing the genetic counseling
profession in the years to come?
I think the biggest challenge that we are currently facing and hopefully will
be settled within the next few years, is billing and (good) reimbursement
for our services. We are making great strides in this effort with finally
having a voice at the table of those who make these decisions on a federal
level, which is fantastic! The other issue is how we will work with medical
geneticists in the future, as they are not producing many physicians compared
to the number of genetic counselors who graduate every year. In addition,
genetics becomes more main-stream there will be a shift in how we practice.
In the future, I see genetic counselors working in primary care medical offices,
on their own, and getting reimbursed for their services!
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Kelly Ormond - Class of 1994 (taken
from www.nsgc.org; 10/2004))
When Kelly Ormond
began running in 1997, she could barely get to one mile. Seven years later,
Kelly spends most of her free time running marathons and triathlons. “I
don’t win the races, or even place, but I do finish them!” she
says with pride. She completed a half-ironman triathlon, which requires an
athlete to swim 1.5 miles, bike 56 miles, and then run 13 miles, all in about
7 hours. “During a race, I often question whether I’ll make it
the whole way,” she admits. “So it feels pretty amazing to cross
the finish line.”
This October [2004], Kelly will assume the role of President of the NSGC,
and there is every indication that she will be bringing the same level of
energy, dedication, and determination to this office as she has to her running
career.
Kelly began college at Bucknell in 1988 with plans of being a veterinarian,
but she was surprised to find that she enjoyed psychology as much as biology,
and decided to pursue a double major. When an older sorority sister introduced
her to the field of genetic counseling her sophomore year, she knew it was
a good fit for her. Kelly earned her Master’s degree in Genetic Counseling
from Northwestern University in 1994 and became a certified genetic counselor
in 1996.
During the first several years of her career, Kelly provided prenatal, pediatric
and adult genetic counseling at the University of Vermont. She also served
as coordinator of the Vermont Pregnancy Risk Information Service and helped
found a new multidisciplinary Marfan syndrome clinic. “I loved working
with the patients and families in all of these venues,” she says, “helping
them think through an issue and arriving at the decision that was right for
them.”
It’s a love she has had to put on hold for a while, as her career has
advanced and propelled her to the Directorship of the Graduate Program in
Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University. “You can’t do everything
well,” she notes, “and so I had to pick between the clinic and
training. I miss working with the patients, and a lot of the teaching I do
is case-based, which makes me think about the clinic and miss it even more.”
But Kelly also loves to teach, and finds it to be the most challenging thing
she has yet encountered. “Teaching makes you figure out what you believe
and why you believe it. I learn more by teaching than anything else I have
ever done.”
One of her favorite subjects to teach is ethics, and it’s a subject
she teaches to both physicians in training and genetic counseling students.
“My goal in these classes is to get the students to question the question:
not just to take things at face value, but to try to figure out why people
have different views.”
Her interest in ethics is evident in much of the research she has published,
and stems from a one-year fellowship she completed at the University of Chicago’s
MacLean Center for Clinical Medical Ethics in 2001. During the fellowship
she served as part of a multidisciplinary team that would be called in to
consult on patient issues, such as discontinuing life support. She found it
was a role that felt very comfortable to a genetic counselor: interviewing
the patient, their family, doctors, nurses, and hospital administrators, with
a goal of putting the issue in context and helping all of the parties reach
a consensus.
That fellowship was also Kelly’s first intimate exposure to several
other medical subspecialty areas, and a key opportunity to work as a member
of a multidisciplinary team. It’s an experience that she strongly feels
other genetic counselors should have as they strive to define their own role
in an evolving medical system. “We haven’t had to do this before,”
she notes. “But as our field grows, we need to start collaborating more
with other clinical specialists. That’s how you get respect and how
you get patients.”
Two of Kelly’s top priorities during her tenure as NSGC President will
be to continue to work toward achieving the goals in the organization’s
strategic plan, and to build a strong infrastructure for the new NSGC Foundation,
which will be established this fall. “I feel very fortunate succeeding
Dawn Allain as President, because the two of us have
very similar views of the direction in which the NSGC should be going,”
notes Kelly. “This is especially important because each President serves
only a one-year term—with that frequent a turnover, it can be easy to
lose momentum.”
Kelly also plans to call on the full NSGC membership to apply their various
talents toward strengthening and enriching the organization. An important
piece of this will be the implementation of new mentorship programs. “The
majority of our membership has been in the field for less than 5 years,”
she notes. “I want to put mechanisms in place to help this new generation
become leaders, without losing sight of the tremendous advances we have already
made in this field. If you’re forgetting your history, you lose track
of your mistakes and what you learned from them.
“It’s a bit of a juggling act,” she admits. “We have
to be both flexible for the future and grounded in our past.”
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Aimee Tucker Williams Class of
1997 (taken from genetic counseling program alumni newsletter –
Winter 2003-2004)
Briefly
describe your professional roles. How is your time divided?
Divided is the best word to explain it! My job seems to be constantly evolving
and I seem to always be spread out in a million directions, which is a good
way to stay “on my toes.” As it stands right now, here is what
I do:
Clinical - I provide outreach prenatal genetic counseling services
on a Title V grant from the Texas Department of Health. Through this grant,
I run a genetics clinic at 6 different community health centers throughout
Harris County. Most of my patients are medically indigent, and 98% speak Spanish
only!
Research - I coordinate genotype/phenotype studies on tuberous sclerosis
complex for my employer, Dr. Hope Northrup. Most of my time is spent on the
phone with families explaining our research, coordinating CLIA confirmation
of our genetic test results, mining our database for interesting information
(now I just need to write some of it up).
Genetic Counseling Program - I am a member of the program Core Planning
Committee (a committee that establishes GCP policy and evaluates student performance),
and a member of the interviewing committee. I took this job at UT because
it would give me the opportunity to work with students.
Licensure – I am the current chair of the Texas Genetic Counselor
Licensure Working Group. I have been leading licensure efforts in Texas since
2002. We hope to take a bill to the state legislature during the 2005 session.
Other – administrative stuff, translator, local computer geek
(when our IT people are too busy to help), procrastination over things I don’t
feel like doing.
What professional accomplishment are you particularly proud of?
When I took this job, it required me to be bilingual (English/Spanish), but
the only experience I had was about 6 years of Jr. High and High School Spanish
classes. My boss hired an interpreter to come with me (until I could learn
enough Spanish to counsel on my own). The interpreter showed up for her first
day of clinic…but the nature of the sessions must have been too much
for her, because I never saw her again! From my second day on the job, I had
to fend for myself! I relied on a videotape developed by a bilingual GC to
learn to provide the genetic information portion of my session, and relied
on my patient’s patience with my then limited Spanish speaking skills
to get through the rest of the session! Now, I have patients ask me if I am
a native speaker, so I guess I have gotten better over the years! Another
thing that I am proud of (and thankful for) is my recent appointment as a
member of the application review team for the Audrey Heimler Special Projects
Fund. I have always wanted to become more involved in the NSGC, and I am thankful
to Dawn Allain (NWU alum) for this opportunity.
What is a fun fact about you that fellow NU alums may not know?
Hard question….and I don’t know how fun this fact is….but,
if I retired tomorrow from genetic counseling, I would open a quilt shop!
Shortly after moving to Texas, I began taking quilting classes. In fact, Carrie
Curell Lango (’97) got the first quilt I completed in those classes
as a wedding gift! I am pretty addicted to quilting and crafting now…and
would spend all day being crafty if I could.
Patti Mills Class of 1996 (taken from alumni newsletter fall 2004)
Briefly describe your professional roles. How is your time divided?
Like most genetic counselors, I wear many hats on the job. As a Product Manager,
I am responsible for Abbott Molecular’s products related to preimplantation,
prenatal and postnatal genetic testing. These on-market products are cystic
fibrosis and VYSIS FISH assays. Additionally, there are new products in the
pipeline.
Responsibilities related to on-market products include product positioning,
promotion, and education of our sales force and consumers. For me, this is
the fun stuff.
Behind the scenes, much of my time is spent evaluating opportunities for
new products, working with product development teams to ensure that new products
meet the needs of consumers, and preparing for a successful product launch.
Preparing for a launch requires a lot of paperwork, and coordination of logistics
(packaging, pricing, sales projections, etc.). These are less glamorous aspects
of my job, but given the teamwork and effort that is required to bring a product
to market, it feels like quite an accomplishment when a new product is launched.
My genetic counseling background is most helpful when developing promotional
materials, educating our sales force and new customers, and of course, when
meeting with customers to better understand their needs and expectations.
Having a network of contacts from my ‘previous life’ as a genetic
counselor is very helpful. Likewise, my experience as a genetic counselor
is useful when working to build relationships with patient/family advocacy
organizations.
What is the most challenging part of your position?
Again, as with most of us, the biggest challenge is juggling responsibilities
and accomplishing what you set out to do in reasonable period of time. Likewise,
as in the practice of genetic counseling and participation in clinical genetics
research, there are regulatory issues to navigate. The Ethics and Compliance
Officers at pharmaceutical companies are busy people. Since all promotional
activities have to be approved by Regulatory and Ethics/Compliance Officers,
getting a project off the ground requires persistence.
Also, because I work in Global Marketing, I work with Abbott Molecular employees and distributors worldwide. Given that I’m based in the US and interact most with US customers and employees, it can be difficult to keep a balanced/global perspective of the markets’ needs. Also, as in genetic counseling, attention to cultural differences is required. On the upside, I get to travel through out the US and abroad, which I enjoy.
What has been the most rewarding of your position?
When I look at the big picture, I see what I do as an opportunity to bring
genetic services to greater number of individuals and families, which is incredibly
rewarding. Achieving the financial goals that are set for me requires driving
the market for high-quality genetic testing products and services.
As an example, newborn screening for cystic fibrosis is a hot topic now. One of my responsibilities is to ensure that every state newborn screening lab is aware of our cystic fibrosis assay and the advantages it offers over competitive products – and from a financial perspective, the sooner these labs implement molecular screening, the better! If this means that more children with cystic fibrosis are identified and treated sooner – well, that’s something to feel good about.
What has been your biggest professional challenge?
A role of a genetic counselor often is to advocate on behalf of your client. As a product manager, I have to champion efforts on behalf of my products. In the corporate world, this means offering persuasive financial rationale for the introduction of new or improved products, or educational initiatives. Relative to the markets for oncology or infectious disease molecular testing, the market for molecular testing related to birth defects is small. Sometimes, it’s difficult not to take it personally when I advocate whole-heartedly for a new product or initiative, but it is not implemented on the basis of a limited return on investment.
Claire Singletary Class
of 1998 (taken from alumni newsletter spring 2006)
Briefly describe your professional roles. How is your time divided?
I am the Assistant Director of the Genetic Counseling Program at the University
of South Carolina. In this role I teach several classes, run thesis seminar,
and coordinate rotations, which technically accounts for 35% of my time. I
continue to see prenatal patients five days a week, which accounts for, oh
nevermind, I never was very good at math anyway.
How did you become interested in working with a genetic counseling graduate
program?
I found the idea of working in an academic setting intriguing as a means of
staying abreast of current trends in our profession. I was lucky enough to
land at USC right out of Northwestern. I was hired as a full-time prenatal
counselor. At that time my involvement in program activities was minimal.
Once I realized how much I loved teaching students, I began to take on more
roles within the program when opportunities arose. Eventually this culminated
in being named the assistant director.
What is the most rewarding/challenging part of your position?
Each year when the students present their thesis projects to the faculty and
their families in conjunction with graduation, I am amazed at their grace
and professionalism. It is humbling and rewarding to have been a part of the
process that molded them into genetic counselors. To be regarded by my students
in any portion of the same light in which I regard Beth Fine and Dr. Pergament
is such an honor. I would encourage anyone with the opportunity to work with
students on rotations, thesis, or coursework to embrace the challenge because
it brings a different type of reward than patient interactions.
What professional accomplishment are you particularly proud of?
Being involved with the education of over 50 genetic counselors to date and
being elected by my colleagues as the Region III Representative for NSGC are
the accomplishments that I am most proud of.
What has been your biggest professional challenge?
Learning how to balance enthusiasm for our profession with the wonderful demands
of motherhood.
What is a fun fact about you that your fellow NU alums may not know?
I am affiliated with two southern schools (Furman and USC) with misunderstood
school cheers:
FU all the time. Go Cocks!
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Scott Weissman Class of 2002
(taken from alumni newsletter fall 2005
What initially interested you about the area of cancer genetics?
Aside from the money and glory, my own family history of cancer got me interested
in this sub-specialty. Plus, I had great cancer rotations at University of
Chicago and Northwestern; both of these experiences solidified my interest.
What is the most rewarding/challenging part of your position?
The most rewarding part of my job occurs when we are able to identify gene
mutations in families. For every family that I see, I feel like a detective
trying to track down and catch the culprit. Although many times it may be
hard for a family to get positive results, I feel in the long run the information
benefits the family.
What has been your biggest professional challenge?
My biggest professional challenge to date has been my position as the co-chair
of the Cancer SIG. I don’t know what I was thinking when I agreed to
run for the job, but I have learned a lot about the intricacies of a NSGC
SIG and have met some really great people along the way.
What is a fun fact about you that your fellow NU alums may not know?
I was on the Oprah Winfrey Show (not in the audience, but on the panel)
with my mother the summer before I entered high school. This was when Oprah
was still trash-TV and not a pretentious loud mouth, she aired a show on children
who were addicted to Nintendo. I called a producer and ratted out my mom for
stealing my Gameboy so she could play Tetris 20 hours a day. To accurately
date this, I wore a bolo tie and fake Z-Cavaricci’s!