Board of Directors
President: Kristen Ondy, MS, CGC
Term: January 2026 - January 2028
Bio Coming Soon!
President - Elect: Enrique Lopez, MS, CGC
Term: January 2026 - January 2028
Mr. Lopez is a licensed and certified genetic counselor. He currently works at Rutgers Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital in the OBGYN department as a prenatal genetic counselor. He was born in Porto Alegre, Brazil and has lived a large portion of his life in New Jersey. He graduated from the genetic counseling program at Rutgers University in 2021 and has been practicing now for 4 years. From a clinical perspective he has extensive experience in pediatric, cancer, and prenatal genetic counseling. Additionally, he is extremely passionate about providing genetic counseling services and support to individuals of underserved populations and to bring communities together.
Mr. Lopez was the State Team Coordinator for Puerto Rico while working for the New York Mid-Atlantic Caribbean (NYMAC) Regional Genetics Network and collaborated with many different stakeholders/parties to increase access to genetic services on the island. This was facilitated by connecting various providers and patient organizations, forming a network of genetic services. He worked with providers and patient organizations to provide workshops about genetics, and to inquire on what needed to be done for us to create a strong interconnected community. He was the inaugural chair for the DEIJ committee within ABGC and helped create a needs-based scholarship for diplomates taking the certification exam and also helped create a glossary for ABGC so individuals can use it as a reference. Lastly, he recently joined the Latin American Professional Society for Genetic Counseling (SPLAGen) as the North American Representative.
Past President: Christina Botti, MS, CGC
Term: January 2026 - January 2028
Ms. Botti (she/her) received her undergraduate degree in biotechnology at Rochester Institute of Technology followed by her master's degree in genetic counseling at Arcadia University. She currently serves as an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics and Clinical Instructor in the Department of OB/GYN & Reproductive Sciences at Rutgers – Robert Wood Johnson Medical School. She provides pediatric and adult genetic counseling services for a variety of complex indications. She also facilitates a support group for women who recently underwent pregnancy termination.
Secretary: Caitlin Cooney, MS, CGC
Term: January 2026 - January 2028
Ms. Cooney graduated from Sarah Lawrence College’s Human Genetics Program in 2014. Since then, she has worked as a clinical genetic counselor at Montefiore Hospital and NYU. She also served as a laboratory genetic counselor at Sema4 in clinical operations and most recently transitioned into a hybrid research and clinical role at Geisinger.
In her current research role, Ms. Cooney co-leads several gene dosage curation working groups for the Clinical Genome Resource (ClinGen). These working groups are primarily composed of volunteers, and attendance varies across meetings. As a result, this role requires detailed note-taking and strong written communication skills to ensure all members remain informed and up to date on protocols. While agenda reminders and follow-up are essential, she has also learned to remain flexible and adapt meeting schedules as needed.
In addition, the ClinGen resource publishes all curations on its website. As a co-lead, Ms. Cooney works closely with curators to draft gene dosage curation summaries, ensuring that the evidence is accurately documented using clear and consistent language.
Treasurer: Allysa Tuite, MS, CGC
Term: September 2025 - January 2027
Allysa Tuite is a board certified and licensed genetic counselor currently working in pediatric genetics at Rutgers New Jersey Medical School in Newark, NJ. She also provides counseling services for prenatal and cancer clinics. She received her Bachelor of Arts in Genetics and Spanish with an Undergraduate Certificate in Genetic Counseling from Rutgers University in New Brunswick, NJ in 2014. She received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in 2016.
Member at Large: Kylie Katz, MS, CGC
Term: January 2024 - January 2026
Ms. Katz (she/her) is a board-certified and licensed genetic counselor at the Rutgers RWJ Division of Medical Genetics. She received her undergraduate degree in Biology with a minor in Psychology at Cornell University and received her master's degree in Genetic Counseling from Rutgers University.
Member at Large: Brooke Levin, MS, CGC
Term: January 2025 - January 2027
Ms. Levin is a New Jersey state licensed, certified genetic counselor at the Cancer Genetics Program at MD Anderson Cancer Center at Cooper.She has been a licensed, certified genetic counselor for over 12 years. She received a Master of Science degree in genetic counseling at Arcadia University in 2013 and a Bachelor of Arts degree in psychology and classical studies at the University of Pennsylvania in 2007. After attending her first Human Genetics Association of New Jersey meetings as a graduate student in 2012, Ms. Levin finally became a member in 2016. More recently, Ms. Levin joined the education sub-committee to help contribute to organizing the speaker and CEU portion of the meetings. In her professional roles, she has helped to set up a screening program for people with increased risk for pancreatic cancer and is currently working to make genetic testing easier to obtain for people with certain cancer types. Brooke has lived in South Jersey for her entire life and is also the mom to two little boys, ages 4 and 8.