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Sarah Lawrence president Cristle Collins Judd today announced that Kelle Steenblock MS, LGC has been named the inaugural director of the College’s recently created genomics institute. The institute continues Sarah Lawrence’s long-standing leadership in building innovative educational programs to meet critical societal needs. As an incubator for an inclusive educational community committed to the ethical, equitable, and effective integration of genomic technologies into society, the institute’s mission is to build a diverse workforce, create professional development opportunities, promote thought leadership, and foster community among genetics and genomics professionals to build a future in which all people have access to tailored, person-centered healthcare. The institute builds on Sarah Lawrence’s leading role in the genetic counseling profession, which began in 1969 with its creation of the first—and still largest—genetic counseling masters program in the United States.
The institute will significantly expand Sarah Lawrence’s footprint in genetics and genomics, training professionals through a portfolio of continuing education, certificates, and degrees geared towards learners across various stages of their professional journeys. As director, Steenblock—a healthcare veteran with more than 20 years of experience promoting equitable access to quality healthcare and genetic services—will build the institute from the ground up, developing the strategy and assembling the team to successfully launch the institute, its programs, and its partnerships.
Steenblock comes to Sarah Lawrence from InformedDNA, the nation’s leading applied genomics company whose mission is to optimize clinical decisions by leveraging current genomic expertise. Over 15 years and across five positions of progressive responsibility at InformedDNA—most recently Senior Vice President of Product Strategy—Steenblock has leveraged her unique set of skills to excel at data-driven strategic planning, successfully evolving ideas and visions into fully operational realities.
A licensed genetic counselor with both clinical laboratory and industry experience, Steenblock is passionate about providing equitable access to genomic information in a way that drives improved healthcare outcomes for everyone. She sees Sarah Lawrence’s genomics institute as a necessary innovation at a critical time. “Over the last 20 years I have seen first-hand the dynamic transformation of genetic and genomic information and how it is being integrated into care,” she says. “And while we have come a long way, there is much more work to be done. Sarah Lawrence is uniquely positioned to be at the forefront of the evolution of genomics workforce training, and to shape the next phase of the genomics revolution. I’m honored to be a part of it.”
Certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling, Steenblock earned her MS in Genetic Counseling from Northwestern University after receiving her BA in biology from Gustavus Adolphus College.
“Kelle has an impressive and rare combination of strategic and tactical skills and is adept at setting a vision and turning that vision into an actionable plan,” said Judd. “Her training and work history combine to make her the ideal person to launch Sarah Lawrence’s genomics institute. She’s deeply passionate about the work this institute is set to do, and about the people who will benefit from it.”
Diane Baker MS ’79, a Sarah Lawrence alumna and pioneering leader in the field of genetic counseling, is a member of the steering group shepherding the genomics institute from concept to creation and the inaugural chair of the institute’s external advisory council. Part of the team that led the search for a director, Baker echoes Judd’s sentiments about Steenblock: “Kelle understands the challenges and opportunities in the field of genetics and genomics today and the unmet needs of both patients and practitioners. She is eager to bring her knowledge and experience to building bridges that will improve outcomes for all involved."
Steenblock will begin her tenure as director of the Sarah Lawrence genomics institute on September 15, 2022.
About the Sarah Lawrence College Genomics Institute
Announced in November 2021, Sarah Lawrence College’s genomics institute seeks to build a world in which all people have access to the benefits of genetic and genomic science. The creation of the institute expands on the College’s long history of identifying critical societal needs and responding with innovative educational programs, as it did more than 50 years ago when it established the first ever graduate program in Human Genetics. That program created an entirely new field in healthcare—genetic counseling—drawing on the disciplines of psychology, ethics, advocacy, biology, and medicine in a manner that thoroughly embodied the College’s philosophy of education and humanistic values. The Joan H. Marks Graduate Program in Human Genetics remains the largest program in the U.S., having graduated more than 1,000 genetic counselors.
Today, in response to the rapid proliferation and ubiquitous deployment of genomic technologies—technologies that hold extraordinary potential for improving human well-being but that also carry profound ethical and societal implications—the College is extending its efforts to meet these new challenges through the creation of this genomics institute.