Leadership Profiles

Nancy P. Callanan
President 2006

Nancy P. Callanan, Director of the graduate-level Genetic Counseling Program at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, has been elected 2006 President of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC).

As President of NSGC, Callanan is responsible for leading the association and serving as its chief spokesperson. She has over twenty years of clinical experience primarily in prenatal and pediatric genetic counseling. Her research interests include the educational and counseling needs of individuals pursing screening and carrier testing for genetic conditions. She can also comment on issues related to genetic counselor training, as well as the importance of board certification and licensure for genetic counselors.

A graduate of Sarah Lawrence College in Bronxville, NY, with a Master’s of Science in Human Genetics, Callanan is certified in genetic counseling by the American Board of Medical Genetics and is a charter member of the American Board of Genetic Counseling. Her career began as a counselor of prenatal and pediatric genetics at the University of Connecticut Health Center. From there she moved to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and spent nearly two decades as a faculty member and genetic counselor in the Division of Genetics and Metabolism. In 1999, she joined UNC Greensboro, where she helped establish their MS Genetic Counseling program. This is the first and only such program in North Carolina.

Callanan has been a member of NSGC since 1980, and was active in the development of the Society’s Professional Code of Ethics that was adopted in 1992. In 1999, Callanan was awarded the Region III Leadership Award in recognition of her accomplishments in the role of Region III Representative on the NSGC Board of Directors. Callanan is also active in improving the field of genetics within her home state of North Carolina.

She is a member of the North Carolina Medical Genetics Association and recently served as an appointed member of the North Carolina Task Force on Genomics and Public Health as Chair of the Education Work Group.

She has spoken and published extensively on topics related to her work in prenatal and pediatric genetic counseling. This year she co-authored a book chapter about a genetic counseling approach to genetic testing in Genetic Testing: Care, Consent and Liability, scheduled for release by publisher Wiley-Liss in December 2005.

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