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The Alliance strives to increase access to and quality of genetic services, genetic counseling and testing, for underserved communities. One of our foundational strategies is to increase the diversity of the genetic and genomic healthcare workforce. To this end, we provide support to prospective students, current trainees and professionals from marginalized and underrepresented backgrounds. Members of our network will in turn provide community education about genetic counseling and testing, the reasons why those can be important components of healthcare, and how to access those services.

When I started the Minority Genetic Professionals Network (MGPN) in 2018, there were no affinity groups in the genetic counseling world. MGPN catalyzed the increased diversity of recent cohorts of genetic counseling students and the diversification in leadership across the genetic counseling field. New networks have emerged because, for the first time, people could find others of shared backgrounds in our profession. These networks include the Genetics Opportunities, Learning, Development, and Empowerment Network, the Latin American Professional Society for Genetic Counseling, the Arab Society of Genetic Counselors, the Pakistani Society of Medical Genetics, the Undocu GC Network, and the NSGC Spanish Development Special Interest Group.

Now that the work of MGPN has paused, I have shifted focus to the Alliance. There are currently over 1300 people in our network with over 900 of those engaging regularly with email blasts and over 400 in our online platform. But there is much more work to be done to proceed with our mission of increasing equity in genetic and genomic healthcare, and that will require financial resources.

I am excited to announce that our website is up and we are currently awaiting approval of our 501(c)(3) nonprofit status from the IRS. It may be several months before we actually hear from them, but in the meantime, we are able to begin fundraising and I would be tremendously grateful for your support! Once our exempt status is approved, your contributions will count towards charitable tax deductions if you itemize your expenses on your tax return.

I invite everyone in my networks, both professional and personal, to join me on this journey!

Michelle Takemoto, Founder & Executive Director

Startup Campaign

By Alliance for Genomic Justice

Startup Campaign

The Alliance for Genomic Justice Startup Campaign