Kelly Bontempo, MS, CGC

President@illinoisgenetics.org

• Symposium Committee Member
  

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. 

Melissa Hsu, MS, CGC Secretary@illinoisgenetics.org

• Symposium Committee Member
  
• Marketing Committee Member
  

Melissa Vanden Berg 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. Prior to her work with AMG, Melissa also served as a prenatal genetic counselor with NorthShore University HealthSystem and Advocate Illinois Masonic Medical Center, as well as provided telehealth counseling for Interleukin Genetics. Melissa is passionate about mentoring students in genetics, and does so in various ways through her faculty position with the Northwestern GPGC, including supervising clinical rotation students, serving as an advisor and committee member on thesis projects, providing mentorship for journal club presentations, and providing lectures; 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. 

Vivian Pan, MS, CGC Treasurer@illinoisgenetics.org

• Membership Committee Member
  
• Billing & Reimbursement Committee Member
  
• Illinois Genetic Information Privacy Act Amendment Task Force Member
  

Vivian Pan graduated from the genetic counseling program at Northwestern University in 2012 and was certified by the ABGC in the same year. She currently provides prenatal, cancer, and adult genetic counseling for the Division of Genetics at Advocate Medical Group (Advocate Lutheran General Hospital in Park Ridge). Vivian is actively involved in the National Society for Genetic Counselors as the Chair of the Mentor Program Subcommittee and Vice-Chair of the Payer Subcommittee. She is co-coordinator of the Research Methods class for the Northwestern Graduate Program for Genetic Counseling (NUGPGC) and serves on the Internet Resources Task Force and Curriculum Committee for the NUGPGC. Vivian also supervises students who come to Advocate Lutheran General Hospital for their clinical rotation and participates in student thesis projects as a committee member and thesis advisor.  Her professional and research interests include implementation of genomic medicine in clinical care and access/delivery of genetic counseling services.