WASHINGTON, D.C. – March 2, 2009 – Genetic Alliance announced today that the Reverend Dr. Susan King is a new member of the Genetic Alliance Council (formerly the Board of Directors). Rev. Dr. King is an ordained interfaith minister specializing in the connections between life sciences and society. In addition to years of experience in genetics and interfaith dialogue, she brings expertise in partnership development to the Council.
“The Genetic Alliance Council is a demanding experience, both in terms of time and energy. The members of the Council convene space that supports and manifests visioning at the deepest level. Susan is utterly present and transparent. She promotes the rigorous process of self-discovery required to fulfill our mission and facilitates dynamic openness as we discern the highest good for all stakeholders in our network,” said Sharon Terry, President and CEO of Genetic Alliance.
“The Genetic Alliance Council is broadening and deepening what it means to be a consumer and an advocate, in the genetics community and beyond. As a Council member, I will focus on what it means for us to be present in the world, to respond to the ongoing needs of a diverse network,” explained Rev. Dr. King.
In order to sustain Genetic Alliance’s mission to transform health through genetics, the Council strives to model the principles central to the mission: openness, presence, transparency, disruption, identification, diversity, collaboration, accountability and discernment. In addition to the duties of a traditional Board of Directors, the Council encourages robust dialogue about complex issues facing a diverse network of stakeholders.
Currently, Rev. Dr. King is the Associate Director for the Life Science and Society Program at the University of Michigan. She specializes in ethical and social justice issues in genetics, on which she teaches and presents regularly. She is also an Interfaith Minister and Spiritual Counselor at the Interfaith Center for Spiritual Growth, and a clergy member of a local church. She is a member of the Genetics Equity Network and the American Public Health Association Genomics Forum.
Rev. Dr. King is a graduate of Siena Heights University in Adrian, Michigan. She earned her doctorate in ministry from the Graduate Theological Foundation, and anticipates completing a doctorate in pastoral psychology in 2009. She has been trained in shamanistic traditions and has also received fellowships from Oxford University.
