Biography

Barbara Harrison, MS, CGC, graduated with a Bachelor’s degree in Biology from University of Maryland, College Park and received a Master’s degree in Genetic Counseling from University of Pittsburgh. She is certified by the American Board of Genetic Counselors and currently serves on its Board of Directors. She is an Assistant Professor at Howard University College of Medicine and teaches graduate students, medical students, and medical residents in various specialties, in the areas of genetics, genetic testing, genetic counseling and ethics. In addition to her academic duties, she provides genetic counseling services at Howard University Hospital for a variety of referral reasons, including cancer and prenatal. She is the Assistant Director for Community Outreach and Education for the HU Center for Sickle Cell Disease.

Professionally, she is the chair of the Warren Alpert Foundation Alliance to Increase Diversity in Genetic Counseling Extremal Advisory Committee, and recently served on the All of Us Genetic Counseling Resource Advisory Board and the Alliance for Genetics and Genomics Diversity Advisory Group, among several other advisory committees. In line with her passion to increase the diversity of genetic counselors, Ms. Harrison is a member of the Minority Genetics Professional Network, and co-founder of GOLDEN, the Genetics Opportunities, Learning, Development and Empowerment Network, which is dedicated to increasing the number of Black genetic counselors by raising awareness and mentoring prospective applicants. She was recently awarded the 2020 National Society of Genetic Counselors Natalie Weissberger Paul National Achievement Award, the society’s most distinguished honor.

In the community, Mrs. Harrison volunteers with the Sickle Cell Association of the National Capital Area, Inc. and is an active member of Metropolitan Baptist Church in Largo, MD.