Leadership Profiles

Steven Keiles
2009 President

Steven Keiles, Vice President and Director of Genetic Services for Ambry Genetics in Aliso Viejo, California has been elected as the 2009 president of the National Society of Genetic Counselors.

As President of NSGC, Keiles is responsible for leading the association and serving as the chief spokesperson. He has over 20 years of clinical experience primarily in pediatric, adult, and prenatal genetic counseling. His research interests include molecular diagnostic testing for cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis. He can also comment on issues related to genetic counselor training, board certification, licensure, oversight of genetic testing, and the Genetic Information Non-Discrimination Act (GINA).

He obtained his Masters degree in genetic counseling from Sarah Lawrence College in 1987 and began his career working as a genetic counselor at Kaiser Permanente in West Los Angeles. During his 17 years as the primary genetic counselor his responsibilities included clinic coordination, program implementation and providing counseling for prenatal, pediatric, adult and cancer referrals. He supervised and mentored students from the California State University at Northridge’s genetic counseling program. He also helped to set up the Kaiser West Los Angeles Sickle Cell Hemoglobinopathy center which was awarded the James A. Vohs award in 2000.

During the last 20 years, Keiles has provided lecturing and consulting for a number of national companies and private practice physicians. He began working at Ambry Genetics in 2000 and is currently the Director of Genetic Services. His roles include overseeing the client services department, along with being involved in contracting, new product development and pricing, marketing and research publication.

Keiles has been a member of NSGC since 1987, and has also served on the board of the Jane Engleberg Memorial Fellowship in addition to serving as President elect on the NSGC board. In the past, he has served on the NSGC Board of Directors as Region VI representative, Communications Committee Chair and participated in several other NSGC committees, task forces, and special interest groups.

Keiles is continually speaking on topics related to genetic counselor professional development, molecular diagnosis of cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis. He has published several articles on cystic fibrosis and pancreatitis over the years.

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