Department History

The M.S. Genetic Counseling Program at the University of North Carolina Greensboro was approved as a new program by the UNC Board of Directors in 1999 and became the first genetic counseling training program in North Carolina. Courses began in Fall 2000 with an inaugural cohort of seven individuals.

The first class graduated in 2002. Nancy Callanan, a key member of the proposal committee, was named the founding director of the Genetic Counseling Program in 1999, a position she held until her retirement in 2016. Dr. Pamela Reitnauer, also a member of the proposal committee, continues to serve today as the program’s Medical Director.

Since the program’s initiation, it has graduated over 150 genetic counselors who work in 26 U.S. states and Canada and work in all sub-specialties of genetic counseling. Lauren Doyle joined the program in 2016 as the director. Two alumni, Randi Stewart (Class of 2002) and Rachel Mills (Class of 2008) have returned to UNCG as program faculty, while numerous alumni serve as clinical supervisors, research mentors, and guest faculty for our students and students across the country.

The year 2020 marks the 20th Anniversary of the Genetic Counseling Program at UNCG and we celebrate this momentous occasion, the 150 program alumni, and all of the individuals who have supported the program through its growth from inception to now.