President
Aishwarya Arjunan, MS, CGC President@illinoisgenetics.org
Aishwarya Arjunan graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 2013 with degrees in genetic counseling and public health and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counselors in 2014. She currently works for Counsyl, Inc as a Medical Science Liaison. Prior to Counsyl she served as a clinical genetic counselor for the Center for Jewish Genetics and Lurie Children’s Hospital in the Department of Genetics, Birth Defects, and Metabolism. Aishwarya is actively involved within the genetic counseling community as a member of the NSGC AEC Orientation and Cultural Competency committees. Within the Northwestern Genetic Counseling Program, Aishwarya is a thesis advisor and serves on the admissions committee and Internet Resources Task Force. | Secretary
Melissa Hsu, MS, CGC Secretary@illinoisgenetics.org
Melissa Hsu graduated from Northwestern University’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling in 2009, after studying Biology at Calvin College and graduating with honors. She currently serves as a prenatal genetic counselor with Advocate Medical Group at Lutheran General Hospital, where she has created a 2 year OB Resident genetics curriculum. Melissa is passionate about mentoring students in genetics, and does so in various ways through her faculty position with the Northwestern GPGC, as well as through the National Society of Genetic Counselor’s Mentorship Program. Melissa also serves as a reviewer for the Journal of Genetic Counseling, and is the current co-chair of the NSGC Prenatal Special Interest group. | Treasurer
Lindsay Rhodes, MS, CGC Treasurer@illinoisgenetics.org
Lindsay Rhodes graduated from the University of Michigan genetic counseling program in 2006 and was certified by the ABGC in 2007. Lindsay is a genetic counselor with the GeneDx clinical genomics program. Prior to her position at GeneDx, Lindsay worked as a clinical genetic counselor in the Division of Pediatric Hematology/Oncology at The University of Chicago, in the Division of Genetics, Birth Defects, and Metabolism at Lurie Children’s Hospital, in the Center for Women’s Health at the University of Illinois Chicago, and at the Reproductive Genetics Institute. Lindsay is currently the GTFI treasurer and is a member of the strategic planning and community outreach committees. |
President-Elect
Allison Goetsch, MS, CGC
Allison Goetsch received her Master’s degree in genetic counseling from Northwestern University in 2014 was certified by the ABGC in 2014. She is currently a pediatric genetic counselor in the Division of Genetics, Birth Defects, and Metabolism at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago. She serves as the clinic coordinator for the Neurofibromatosis multidisciplinary clinic and provides genetic counseling in the Disorders of Sex Development (DSD) clinic. Allison was the 2016 “CodeTalker” award winner – a patient nominated national award for excellence in genetic counseling. In addition to her clinical roles, Allison is a clinical instructor in the Department of Pediatrics at Feinberg School of Medicine. Her research interests include fertility preservation and the healthcare transition process. Allison has several publications in the fertility preservation field, including recent co-authorship of Fertility Preservation and Restoration for Patients with Complex Medical Conditions, a medical textbook. Additionally, she is coordinating a multi-site Neurofibromatosis healthcare transition readiness study as well as serving as a member of the NSGC Neurofibromatosis Practice Resource committee. Allison officially joined GTFI in 2014. She is a member of the marketing committee and in 2017 became President Elect. | Past-President
Kelly Bontempo, MS, CGC
Kelly Bontempo graduated from Northwestern University in 2012 with a Master of Science in Genetic Counseling and was certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling the same year. Kelly is primarily a pediatric genetic counselor with Advocate Medical Group/Advocate Children’s Hospital in Park Ridge, with special interest in connective tissue disorders, newborn screening, inborn errors of metabolism, hereditary cancer syndromes, and hearing loss. She serves as coordinator and genetic counselor for the adult and pediatric Connective Tissue Disorder Clinics. Kelly is actively involved with the Northwestern University Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling as core faculty and member of the Internet Resources Task Force. She also serves on the scientific advisory board for the Sarnoff Center for Jewish Genetics. Kelly has also served as an item writer for the Amercian Board of Genetic Counseling Board exam. Kelly’s interest in nutrition and its effect on complex, multifactorial disorders led her to pursue a certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell in 2015. |
