Genetic Counselors
Debbie Barragan,MS, CGC, LGC Genetic Counselor |
Debbie has been at LPCH since 2012. Originally from Salinas, CA, Debbie graduated from UC Berkeley in 2004 and received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from Stanford University in 2010. Prior to coming to the Perinatal Genetics group, she worked as a Cancer Risk Counselor at City of Hope for 2 years where she provided genetic cancer risk assessment services to underserved populations in Los Angeles County. Debbie enjoys using her creativity and interest in genetics to create educational materials for groups of all ages. Her interests include increasing awareness about the genetic counseling profession and increasing the accessibility of genetics services. Debbie is fluent in Spanish and sees patients at the LPCH and Salinas offices. |
Kelly Chen,MS, CGC, LGC Genetic counselor, Clinical instructor (affiliated) |
Kelly has been at LPCH since 1997. Originally from the Bay Area, Kelly graduated from the University of California at Berkeley in 1990 and received her Master of Science in genetic counseling from the University of California, Irvine in 1995. Prior to coming to the Perinatal Genetics group in 2006, she worked in Medical Genetics at LPCH for 9 years where she participated in the Craniofacial Anomalies Clinic, Center for Marfan Syndrome and general genetics clinics. Kelly enjoys teaching and supervising students, and co-teaches the genetic counseling role play class. Her interests include utilization of relational databases in patient care, family history of genetic conditions, and hemoglobinopathies. Kelly sees patients at the LPCH and El Camino Hospital offices. |
Kristi Guinon,MS,CGC,LGC Genetic Counselor |
Kristi has been at LPCH since 1992. Kristi grew up in Burlingame, and graduated from the University of the Pacific in 1985 and received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1990. Prior to coming to the Perinatal Genetics group in 1992, she worked as a genetic counselor at UCSF in the Perinatal Diagnosis Center for 2 years. Her professional interests include family history of genetic conditions, abnormal prenatal screening results and genetic carrier screening. Kristi sees patients at LPCH and Sequoia Hospital offices. |
Whitney Heinrichs,MS, CGC, LGC Genetic Counselor |
Whitney has been at LPCH since 2005. Originally from the Bay Area, Whitney graduated from UCLA. She received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, in 2005. Since high school, Whitney knew she wanted to become a genetic counselor and she started volunteering in the prenatal departments at both LPCH and UCLA in 2001. Whitney’s professional interests include family histories of chromosome abnormalities, family histories of genetic conditions, and teratogens. Whitney sees patients at the LPCH and Santa Cruz offices. |
 Meg Homeyer, MS, GCG, LGC |
Meg has been at LPCH since 2000. Originally from La Jolla, CA, Meg graduated from Stanford University in 1989 and received her Master of Science in genetic counseling from UC Berkeley in 1999. Meg briefly worked with Medical Genetics at LPCH part-time before focusing solely on Perinatal Genetics. In 2009, the Center for Fetal and Maternal Health at LPCH was created in order to provide a single point of contact for expectant mothers who require the specialty care available through LPCH due to fetal anomalies. Meg is the patient care coordinator for the CFMH and very much enjoys the challenges that these complex cases provide. Meg speaks Spanish fluently and sees patients at LPCH. |
 Gwen Lopez,MS,CGC,LGC Genetic Counselor,Clinical Instructor (affiliated) |
Gwen has been at LPCH since 2006. Originally from Pennsylvania, Gwen graduated from Goucher College in 1984 and received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of Pittsburgh in 1987. Upon graduation, she worked at Yale University Medical School in Prenatal Genetics until 1989 and then relocated to the Boston area where she worked in a private Prenatal Diagnostic Center until 1996. Prior to moving to the Bay area, Gwen worked at the Genetic Counseling Program in Upstate New York providing both prenatal and pediatric genetic counseling to rural and underserved communities. She enjoys supervising students from the Stanford Genetic Counseling Program. Her professional interests include family history of genetic conditions, hemoglobinopathies, and maternal screening. Gwen sees patients at the LPCH and Fremont offices. |
 Melissa Mills, MS, CGC, LGC Relief Genetic Counselor |
Melissa Mills has been at LPCH since 2010 . Originally from Hingham, MA, Melissa graduated from Stanford University in 1998 and received her Master of Science in genetic counseling from Stanford in 2010. She enjoys serving on the Stanford Master’s Program admissions committee, mentoring graduate students and volunteering at LPCH with her black lab. Her professional interests include hereditary cancer predisposition, family history of genetic diseases, genetic carrier screening and preimplantation genetic diagnosis. Melissa works relief and covers clinics wherever needed. |
 Frannie Roche, MS, CGC, LGC Genetic Counselor |
Frannie Roche has been at LPCH since 1998. Originally from Chicago, Frannie graduated from University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1987 and received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from University of California-Irvine in 1997. She sees patients at LPCH and Santa Cruz offices. |
 Ana Stenzel, MS, CGC, LGC Genetic Counselor |
Ana Stenzel has been at LPCH since 1997. Originally from Los Angeles, Ana graduated from Stanford University in 1994 and received her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling from the University of California, Berkeley in 1997. She enjoys supervising & teaching genetic counseling students and working with Japanese-speaking patients. Her interests include carrier screening, family history of genetic disorders (particularly congenital adrenal hyperplasia, thalassemia and cystic fibrosis), and psychosocial issues of living with genetic disease. She sees patients at LPCH, Mountain View and Fremont offices. |
Joanne Taylor, MS, CGC LGC Genetic Counseling Supervisor, Clinical Instructor (affiliated) |
Joanne has been at LPCH since 1995. Born at Stanford Hospital, Joanne left the Bay Area briefly to attend Amherst College, graduating in 1982. She received her Master of Science in genetic counseling from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1994. Prior to coming to the Perinatal Genetics group in 1995, she worked as a genetic counselor at Children’s Hospital, Oakland. Joanne’s professional interests include the genetic causes of fertility issues, multiple miscarriages, maternal screening and medical ethics. She is fluent in Spanish. Joanne sees patients at the LPCH office. |
Heather Wetzel, MS, CGC, LGCGenetic Counselor, Clinical Instructor (affiliated) |
Heather has been at LPCH since 2011. She is originally from North Carolina where she graduated from North Carolina State University in 2002. She lived in Chicago for 7 years during which time she completed her Master of Science in Genetic Counseling at Northwestern University in 2006. Prior to moving to the Bay Area, Heather worked as a pediatric genetic counselor at the University of Illinois-Chicago for 3 years and as a cancer genetic counselor at Northwestern University for 2 years. She enjoys teaching and supervising students. Her professional interests include hereditary cancer predisposition, family history of genetic diseases (particularly hearing loss, triple repeat disorders, and inborn errors of metabolism), and genetic carrier screening. Heather sees patients at LPCH and El Camino Hospital offices. |