Meet our Team

Christina Zaleski

President

I attended the Genetic Counseling Program at Sarah Lawrence College. I previously worked as a clinical counselor for 13 years. For the past 7 years I've been employed at Prevention Genetics as the Director of Genetic Counseling & Client Services.

Kate Orland

VICE President

I attended the Genetic Counseling program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. I have been a clinical genetic counselor for 11 years. I currently work at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine specializing in cardiac genetics, specifically inherited arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies.

Andrea Nagl

Treasurer | Chair of finance committee

I attended the University of Cincinnati's Genetic Counseling program. I have been a genetic counselor for 11 years. I currently work at Invitae as a Clinical Genomics Scientist.

Anna Zakas

Secretary | chair of communication committee

I attended the University of Pittsburgh Genetic Counseling program. I’ve been a clinical genetic counselor for two years. I currently work at the University of Wisconsin Hospital in the Carbone Cancer Center and at the Digestive Health Center specializing in oncology genetics.

Laura Birkeland

Chair of education committee

I attended the Genetic Counseling program at the University of Wisconsin - Madison. I have been a clinical genetic counselor for 11 years. I am currently employed at the University of Wisconsin - Madison as Assistant Program Director/Senior Clinical Genetic Counselor where I work with our training program and provide clinical services within our Bleeding Disorders Program. Additionally, I work at UnityPoint - Meriter as a Prenatal Genetic Counselor.

Margo Grady

Chair of nomination committee

I attended the University of Wisconsin - Madison for both undergraduate and graduate studies, receiving a Bachelor of Science in Genetics and a Masters degree in Genetic Counselor Studies. I have been a genetic counselor for 25 years. I worked for over 20 years at Meriter Hospital as a prenatal counselor. I currently work at UW Cancer Center at ProHealth Care as a cancer Genetic Counselor.

Jessie Grzybowski

Chair of Social policy committee

I graduated from Northwestern University with an M.S. in Genetic Counseling in 2008. Following graduation I established the cancer genetics program at the University of Illinois at Chicago and have worked in Wisconsin at both Aurora Health Care and the Medical College of Wisconsin with experience in prenatal, adult, and cancer genetics. I joined the Ambry Genetics Cancer Reporting team in 2014 and have experience in variant classification and interpretation of NGS diagnostic test results.

A Special Thank-You and Designation:

The formation of WIGCA would not have been possible without the contributions of Sarah Linn. Sarah has been with the Medical College of Wisconsin for two years, first as a genetic counseling intern and then as a genetic counseling assistant. During her time at MCW, she has volunteered both her time and talent to help with foundational tasks to get WIGCA off of the ground, including website and logo design, communications support, committee involvement, and significant administrative assistance. The board is extremely grateful for Sarah and the work she has done for the organization.