Diversity, Equity and Inclusion

Established in 2019, our LEND fellowship is offered in partnership with the Westchester Institute for Human Development (WIHD) to 2^nd year genetic counseling graduate students who wish to develop the knowledge and skills they will need to become leaders working with and on behalf of children with disabilities and other special health care needs, and their families, to improve health outcomes and decrease disparities. Learn more about LEND and WIHD here.

Established in 2019, Columbia GC students have been providing support for a variety of programs offered at GiGi's Playhouse NYC every fall, including GiGiFIT, Teen Tastic, GiGi's Kitchen, one-on-one literacy and math tutoring, and Gratitude Art. GiGi’s Playhouse is the only community and education center specifically designed to celebrate and support individuals with Down syndrome and their families in New York City. All of their programs are designed to empower individuals with Down syndrome to be their own best advocates. Learn more about GiGi's Playhouse NYC here.

Established in 2019, The Lived Experience is a documentary film series sharing stories of people and families living with genetic diagnoses or genetic risk. Each time we meet to screen a film, we are joined by people who are affected with the diagnosis being highlighted and sometimes by people from the film themselves. We learn about the struggles and joys, successes and barriers that accompany living with chronic disease. Through this experience, our students integrate more deeply the potential human meaning and impact of the genetic information that they are learning in their coursework, furthering their commitment to providing inclusive care.  

Topics over the past several years have included:

• Epilepsy
• Hereditary breast and ovarian cancer
• Cystic fibrosis
• Duchenne muscular dystrophy
• Choroideremia
• Sickle cell disease
• Huntington disease
• Access to abortion services
• Inclusive education for children with disabilities
• Visual representation of people with genetic diagnoses

Established in 2023, our partnership with Positive Exposure supports our students in continuing to deepen their understanding of what it means to be human, supporting their capacity for providing truly inclusive healthcare. Founded by award-winning photographer Rick Guidotti in New York City, Positive Exposure has transformed into a global movement, celebrating the beauty and richness of human diversity. For over 25 years, Positive Exposure has built a more equitable, compassionate world for individuals and communities at risk of stigma and exclusion. We all share the same need: The need to be seen. The need to be heard. The need to belong. Positive Exposure creates spaces rooted in unity, respect, and inclusion through photography, film, educational programs, and advocacy at their gallery in East Harlem and around the globe. Learn more about Positive Exposure here.

Established in 2020, students engage in weekly Spanish language classes to improve their communciation skills specific to genetic counseling in order to better serve our local community members. The community we serve at our medical center is largely Spanish-speaking and stronger GC-specific Spanish language skills means better communication with patients using interpreters and more equitable care. 

• Students who are not bilingual/fluent in Spanish and English: students are engaged in Spanish language classes for genetic counselors. 
• Students who are bilingual/fluent in Spanish and English: students can gain teaching experience and hone vocabluary specific to genetic counseling by serving as academic support for Spanish language classes for genetic counselors. 

First initiated in 2019, we are working to integrate genetic counseling services into the network of Columbia student-run free clinics (SRFCs). Multiple GC graduate students have focused on this work through their scholarly projects, furthering the progress being made toward increasing access to genetic counseling for a highly diverse community of local patients who are uninsured. The SRFCs at Columbia include:

• Columbia Student Medical Outreach (CoSMO): a free clinic serving uninsured patients in Washington Heights and Northern Harlem offering medical, mental health, physical therapy, social work, and health coaching services. 
• Columbia-Harlem Health and Medical Partnership (CHHMP): student-run clinic providing free, quality medical care to unhoused, uninsured, and underserved individuals in the West Harlem neighborhood of Manhattan. 
• Columbia Human Rights Initiative Asylum Clinic (CHRIA): an organization of students and faculty committed to developing a human rights-centered approach to medicine, challenging the current dialogue around human rights, and advocating for the use of medicine to identify, document, and alleviate human rights abuses.
• Q Clinic: a student-run, free clinic that provides free primary care tailored to the needs of the LGBTQ+ community.
• Columbia University Care Access Project (CCAP): is a harm reduction organization run by Columbia students in Washington Heights with a mission to provide medical services and supplies to people who use drugs and people experiencing housing insecurity in our community, free of charge.

Established in 2022, GCs for Choice is a student-led organization that advocates for reproductive rights with support from genetic counselors and allies. This group raises funds for the National Abortion Federation to improve patient access to abortion services and works to increase awareness about the impact on genetic counseling clients/patients of significant abortion restrictions. Learn more about GCs for Choice here.

Established in 2022 in partnership with the Mailman School of Public Health at Columbia and BreastCare International, we have been working to foster the development of cancer genetic counseling services in Ghana where there are currently no genetic counselors and a high rate of young female breast cancer. We have developed a curriculum for Ghanian hospital counselors to learn about key principles of genetic counseling for cancer, and have delivered various training modules remotely to practitioners in Ghana. We are also working to support access to genetic testing for young women with breast cancer or a family history of early breast cancer. Learn more about BreastCare International here.

First initiated in 2018, we have been working to increase access to genetic counseling within Puerto Rico. Although Puerto Ricans are US citizens, they face significant healthcare disparities and lack of access to genetic counseling that is disproportionate to US citizens living in the mainland US. From 2021-2024, we partnered in this work with the New York Mid-Atlantic Carribean (NYMAC) Regional Genetics Network and received grant funding during this time that allowed some of our students and faculty to occasionally travel to Puerto Rico to facilitate these efforts. Although this funding was discontinued by the US government in spring 2024, we continue to explore opportunities to engage local genetics providers and educators in Puerto Rico to improve access to services and promote genetics education among healthcare providers across the island.

Established in 2018 by a gift from Jill and Lee Goldman, the Steinhardt-Goldman Family Scholars award provides a partial tuition scholarship to one or more genetic counseling graduate students per year who are from our local Washington Heights community of New York City or have experienced economic/financial hardship prior to applying to graduate school. Our Steinhardt-Goldman Family Scholars serve as student representatives on our Admission Committee.

Since 2018, we have been partnered with Hunters Point Community Middle School to support their annual 8th grade Genetic Counseling unit, which offers >125 middle school students the opportunity to learn about the practice and profession of genetic counseling. Our MS in Genetic Counseling students provide support and mentorship to Hunters Point students as they explore this unit and develop their case-based group presentations, and many of our students attend the presentations and offer a brief overview of preparing to become a genetic counselor. Hunters Point Community Middle School serves a broadly diverse student body, with 78% of students identifying as a minority and 68% of students identifying as economically disadvantaged. Learn more about Hunters Point here.

Established in 2020, the Diversity Scholars award provides a partial tuition scholarship to up to two genetic counseling graduate students per year who are committed to enhancing diversity, equity, and inclusion within the practice and profession of genetic counseling. In service of this goal, Diversity Scholars tailor their learning throughout their time in the graduate program, including engaging in a scholarly project grounded in principles of diversity, equity and inclusion; enrolling in one or more related elective courses; attending seminars and talks; and promoting awareness among classmates and faculty through dialogue, presentation, and other forms of engagement. Diversity Scholars also receive mentorship from Columbia faculty committed to these values.

Established in 2018, our Practicum is offered several times per year as a way for prospective genetic counseling students to obtain valuable shadowing experience by observing practicing genetic counselors conduct GC sessions across a variety of specialties and then debriefing the cases with our GC program faculty. We offer the Practicum virtually to improve access for people who might not otherwise be able to participate. More than 175 prospectve students have participated in the Practicum since it launched and >75% of those who have gone on to apply to genetic counseling graduate programs have been accepted. Learn more about the Practicum here.

Established in 2023, we participate in SHPEP at Columbia to raise awareness about the profession of genetic counseling for first- and second-year college students interested in the health professions. SHPEP aims to strengthen the academic proficiency and career development of students in the health professions while preparing them for successful application and matriculation to health professions graduate and professional schools. Many SHPEP participants come from an economically or educationally disadvantaged background and/or have demonstrated an interest in issues affecting underserved populations. Learn more about SHPEP here.