MaineGCA Leadership
Emma Van Hook, MS, MS, CGC
Emma is a board-certified genetic counselor with a passion for public policy and advocacy. As a genetic counselor, she supports patients through the MaineHealth Cancer Risk and Prevention Clinic. Emma has an extensive background in healthcare policy, particularly issues impacting personalized medicine, diagnostics, and oncology care. She sees genetic counselors as a core component of the healthcare ecosystem and is excited to advocate for genetic counselors and the unique services they provide to patients and their families. In addition to her role with the MaineGCA, Emma serves as the Vice-Chair of the Advocacy Committee for the National Society of Genetic Counselors. She obtained her MS in Genetic Counseling from Boston University, her MS in Biotechnology from Georgetown University, and her BS in Biology from Virginia Tech.
President
Stephanie Sharp, MS, CGC
Stephanie is a board-certified genetic counselor with experience in clinical cancer genetics as well as program operations and management. She earned her Master of Science degree in Genetic Counseling from the University of Michigan and joined the MaineHealth Cancer Risk and Prevention team in 2018. Her professional interests include improving access to care, fostering interdisciplinary collaboration, and advancing the quality of care for patients. In addition to her roles at MaineHealth and with MaineGCA, she serves on the Nursing and Allied Health Professionals Advisory Committee of the Northern New England Clinical Oncology Society.
Vice President
Treasurer
Renée Chard, MS, CGC
Renée grew up in Brunswick and currently lives in Topsham. A graduate of McGill University’s MSc in Genetic Counselling Program, Renée returned to Maine where she has been providing genetic counseling services for over 30 years. In her position at MaineHealth Maternal Fetal Medicine she has had the pleasure of supervising many genetic counseling students from programs around the United States and Canada. She has had the honor of serving on the Board of Directors of the National Society of Genetic Counselors and the Perinatal Quality Foundation among other volunteer activities. She is looking forward to serving on the Board of Directors for MaineGCA.
Secretary
Natalie Beck, MGC, CGC
Natalie is a board-certified genetic counselor with over 16 years of experience in clinical care and leadership. She currently serves in clinical and strategic leadership roles at Genome Medical, where she has worked remotely from Maine for the past six years. Before joining Genome Medical, Natalie provided genetic counseling to pediatric and adult patients across multiple specialties at Johns Hopkins Hospital and Rhode Island Hospital/Hasbro Children's Hospital. She brings extensive experience in advocacy, education, research, and professional engagement, including prior work advancing genetic counseling licensure efforts, founding conferences, and leading interdisciplinary working groups. Natalie earned her Master of Genetic Counseling from the University of Maryland School of Medicine in Baltimore, Maryland.
Jenna Albrecht, MSc, MSc, CGC
Jenna graduated from the University of Toronto Genetic Counseling Program in 2012. She began her career at the University of Maryland Medical Center in Baltimore as a prenatal genetic counselor. In 2022, Jenna moved back to her hometown in Maine and joined the Cancer Risk and Prevention Program at MaineHealth as an oncology genetic counselor. She recently transitioned to be the Manager of the Supportive Care Team in the MaineHealth Cancer Care Network. Jenna’s areas of interest are provider and patient education, women’s health and patient outreach.
Member-At-Large
MaineGCA Volunteers
Ashley Kennes, MS, CGC
Community Outreach Coordinator
Joey Pagliarulo, MS, CGC
Website Manager
Ally Rowell, MS, CGC
Newsletter Editor
Alexa Sciarra
Social Media Coordinator