One week out from the Center’s Tenth Anniversary Celebration and we still can’t believe what a resounding success it was! Nearly 280 guests enjoyed a fabulous evening with incredible speakers and wonderful food, all against the backdrop of the Loop’s elegant Standard Club.

The Center was delighted to recognize and honor so many individuals who have enabled and powered our work over the years. Dennis Kessler is one of the founding organizers of the Center and has chaired our Board of Directors from the beginning. His guidance, leadership and passion to help others have been invaluable in our first decade and will propel us even further in our next. The Leadership in Community Health Education in Genetics Award is well deserved.

Our second honoree, Dr. Susan Gross, is the medical director of the Human Genetics Laboratory at Jacobi Medical Center in New York. Without the scientific advances and services of her lab, the Center could only afford to test a third of those it provides with subsidized carrier screening. Thanks to her husband, Dov Weinstock, watch Dr. Gross’ wonderful speech as she accepts the Rosalind Franklin Memorial Innovation in Genetics Award.

The centerpiece of the evening was the keynote speech by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amy Harmon, followed by the panel discussion with three individuals personally affected by Jewish genetic issues. I had a chance to chat with Amy while I helped her prep during the sound check, and she could not have been nicer or more down to earth. Her speech and the panel discussion she led were well worth the long lead time: almost universally, participants and attendees were taken with how moving and intimate the conversation was.

Now that our big evening is behind us, Center staff are beginning to settle back into our regular work. We won’t forget this event any time soon, though: check back often for more photos, video and excerpts from Amy Harmon’s presentation and the panel discussion.