President
Allison Goetsch, MS, CGC President@illinoisgenetics.org
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. |
Secretary
Shelly Weiss McQuaid, MS, CGC Secretary@illinoisgenetics.org
| 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. |
Past-President
Aishwarya Arjunan, MS, MPH, CGC , CPH
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 Myriad Women's Health (formerly Counsyl) as a Clinical Product Specialist for Carrier Screening. 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 the chair of the NSGC First Time Attendee Orientation and co-chair of the NSGC Diversity and Inclusion Task Force. Aishwarya is also a core faculty member within the Northwestern Genetic Counseling Program and serves as a thesis advisor, a member of the admissions committee and the Internet Resources Task Force. | President-Elect
Melissa Hsu, MS, CGC
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. |
Member At LargeLauren Hitchins coming soon | Member At Large
Eve Simi, MS, CGC Eve earned a bachelor's degree in biology from Roanoke College and a masters in genetic counseling from Northwestern University. She has been a licensed board-certified genetic counselor in the state of Illinois for the past 17 years. She currently works as a prenatal genetic counselor at Insight Medical Genetics providing care to both preconception and prenatal patients.Before joining Insight, Eve served as a prenatal genetic counselor at NorthShore University Health System. |
