About us
We founded GeneMatters with a passion to improve patient access to genetic counseling.
That spark continues to ignite our scalable genetic counseling service
Our expertise and focus is purely genetic counseling. When a healthcare organization wants to start or extend genetic counseling to better serve patients, we customize and easily integrate our telegenetics service.
Our expertise
Our team has deep expertise in genetics—from our founder and CEO, Jill Davies, a leader in the field of genetic counseling, to our experienced genetic counselors, management team and advisors.
Our leaders have the experience to understand health care business needs and our seasoned technology team continues to bring innovation to our intuitive telegenetics platform. Together, we built our genetic counseling company with a focus on outstanding service delivery, clinical rigor and technology to simplify care. As a portfolio company of Invenshure, we have the investment and resources to quickly scale to meet growing demands.
Most of all, we share a passion for helping patients—they are who drive us every day.
Leadership
Jill Davies, MS, CCGC, Co-Founder & Chief Executive Officer
Jill Davies is Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer for GeneMatters. Jill has more than 20 years’ experience in the genetics field, with leadership in clinical services, telehealth, product development, business development and operations. Prior to founding GeneMatters in 2016, Jill was Director of Genetics at the Medcan Clinic in Toronto where she developed and delivered leading-edge clinical genomics services. She has a special interest in the role of genomics in primary care and preventive medicine as well as the use of technology to enable access to genomic information and services.
Mark Sylvester, Chief Financial Officer
Mark is currently the Chief Financial Officer (CFO) for GeneMatters and Invenshure, LLC. Previously, Mark was the CFO at The Emily Program, where he oversaw accounting, finance, payroll, and financial analytics. During his tenure, Mark sat on the board of directors, was a member of the senior leadership team, structured a debt and equity recapitalization, and was instrumental in business development during a period of rapid growth. Mark received his J.D. from the University of St. Thomas School of Law and B.A. from Saint John’s University.
Brent Backhaus, Chief Technology Officer
Brent Backhaus is Chief Technology Officer for GeneMatters, leading technical implementation for our telegenetics platform. Brent was the CTO at VRAD from its original incorporation through preparation of IPO, and is lead inventor on the VRAD patent portfolio. He also holds the position of COO for Verata Analytics and is the founder of Living Window. Brent earned SB and SM degrees in mechanical engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Kiley Johnson, MS, LCGC, Senior Director, Clinical Operations
Kiley Johnson is Senior Director of Clinical Operations for GeneMatters. Prior to joining GeneMatters, Kiley was a genetic counselor at Mayo Clinic for 8.5 years where she had a broad range of clinical experience and was integral to the development of the Individualized Medicine Clinic, focused on utilizing new clinical technologies for patient care. Her clinical experiences furthered in the world of telemedicine as a Senior Genetic Counselor with InformedDNA. Kiley also has prior experience with Ariosa/Roche Diagnostics where she was a Medical and Scientific Liaison for 2 years, educating clinicians on Non-Invasive Prenatal Testing (NIPT). Kiley's special interest is bringing new genomic technologies to patient care, with an emphasis on patient education and patient-centered decision making.
Kaylene Ready, MS, CGC, Senior Director, Product Development
Kaylene is Senior Director, Product Development for GeneMatters. Kaylene has extensive experience in product development strategy and execution in the genetics industry. As Product Director for Counsyl, she managed the hereditary cancer product portfolio, working to expand access to genetic testing in the oncology and preventative settings. She was also instrumental in launching their first online results delivery platform. Her clinical experience as a genetic counselor includes MD Anderson Cancer Center and Counsyl, bringing a strong background in oncology and reproductive genetics. Throughout her career, Kaylene has been passionate about education and patient access, and has served in leadership positions in the Texas Society of Genetic Counselors and the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
Darlene Haven, Senior Director, Marketing
Darlene Haven is Senior Director of Marketing for GeneMatters. Prior to joining GeneMatters, Darlene led Medical Marketing for Be The Match, where she directed market strategy for global cancer center services, improved referrals for cancer patients through medical education and market development, and directed marketing implementation for the clinical research program and other divisions. Her career in healthcare marketing spans oncology pharmaceuticals, healthcare services and medical devices, leading commercialization strategies, market analysis, product development and clinical education. Her passion is to improve patients’ access to care.
Craig Fuller, Senior Director, Business Development
Craig Fuller is Senior Director of Business Development for GeneMatters. Craig brings more than 20 years of sales leadership in pharmaceutical and clinical lab industries, including Boston Heart Diagnostics, Berkeley HeartLab, BabyGenes and KOS Pharmaceuticals. He has started and grown high-performing sales teams, and held positions of increasing responsibility in business and channel development. He enjoys building partnerships with clinicians, hospitals, managed care and strategic business planning.Genetic counseling team
Our experienced genetic counseling team has deep expertise across medical specialties. All of our genetic counselors have Master’s degrees through programs recognized by the Accreditation Council for Genetic Counseling and are board-certified by the American Board of Genetic Counseling and/or Canadian Association of Genetic Counsellors. We have genetic counselors to provide services in all U.S. states, including those that require an additional license to practice. Our genetic counselors also receive continual training and education on the rapidly advancing field of genetics.
Alison Payne - MS, LCGCSenior Genetic Counselor, Reproductive Team Lead |
Amy Powers - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Carolyn Wilson - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Cary Armstrong - MS, LCGCSenior Genetic Counselor, Oncology Team Lead |
Cheri Schoonveld - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Cherie Rao - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Courtney Cook - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Diane Myles Reid - MSc, CGCGenetic Counselor |
Emily StearnsGenetic Counseling Assistant |
Erin Ash - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Hanah CytronGenetic Counseling Assistant |
Irelyn Shepard - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Jennifer MacLean - MS, CCGC, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Kelly Morse - MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Kim Reisiger - MS, CGCGenetic Counselor |
Marie Injeyan - MSc, CCGC, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Michelle Hearn, MS, LCGCGenetic Counselor |
Rebecca Moore - MS, CGCGenetic Counselor |
Stephanie Talesca - MS, CGCGenetic Counselor |
Technology and administrative team
Andy AltepeterSenior Software Engineer |
Erik AndersonSystems Administrator |
Mate SzedlakSoftware Engineer |
Monica Zarb, MS, CGCBusiness Development Manager |
Norbert BaloghSoftware Engineer |
Steve SheldonSystems Administrator |
Tammy MillerManager of Marketing and Communications |
Zoltan RibiSoftware Engineer |
Advisory board
Heather Zierhut, MS, PhD, CGC, Chair
Heather Zierhut is the Assistant Professor and the Associate Director of the Graduate Program of Study in Genetic Counseling at the University of Minnesota. Heather brings expertise through involvement in clinical, research, laboratory and public health. Heather has served as National Society of Genetic Counselors Access and Service Delivery Committee Chair where she developed a passion for increasing efficiency and access to genetic counseling. Heather serves as Senior Advisor for GeneMatters to provide expertise on the integration and implementation of innovative, evidence-based genetic counseling services and testing into new and growing markets.
Colleen Caleshu, ScM, CGC
Colleen Caleshu leads the genetic counseling team at the Stanford Center for Inherited Cardiovascular Disease and is a Clinical Associate Professor at Stanford University. Her clinical work focuses on inherited arrhythmias and cardiomyopathies. Colleen’s research interests include genetic test interpretation, integration of genetic counselors into cardiology, psychosocial aspects of cardiovascular genetics, and mindfulness training in genetic counselors. She served as vice-chair of the National Society of Genetic Counselors (NSGC) Education committee and as Chair of the NSGC Cardiovascular Special Interest Group.
Thomas Musci, MD, FACOG, FACMG
Thomas Musci is Co-founder and Chief Medical Officer at BioCeryx, Inc., a molecular diagnostic platform company. He is the former Chief Medical Officer of Ariosa Diagnostics, now part of Roche Diagnostics. Dr. Musci is board-certified in clinical genetics and maternal fetal medicine and was tenured faculty at the University of California San Francisco School of Medicine. He has served on genetic policy committees for both American Congress of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and American College of Medical Genetics (ACMG).
Sara Pirzadeh-Miller, MS, CGC
Sara Pirzadeh-Miller is the Assistant Director for the cancer genetics program at UT Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas and Fort Worth, TX. The program, which employees 14 genetic counselors, serves over 4,000 patients per year in hereditary cancer risk assessment through more than 20 locations in North Texas, including one of the largest service lines for indigent populations in this space nationally. Under her leadership, the program has received numerous grants to increase access to services using group counseling, telehealth, and other alternative service delivery models. She was a former Cancer SIG chair and recently was awarded the Cultural Competency Award by the National Society of Genetic Counselors.
Brittany Thomas, MS, CGC
Brittany Thomas is the Genetic Counselor Supervisor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at Mayo Clinic in Rochester. Brittany leads the team in the development and delivery of new laboratory tools, educational strategies and operational plans. Recently she has worked to establish clinical utility of multi-gene cancer panels. She also recently co-edited the only textbook on laboratory genetic counseling.
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- 807 Broadway St NE,
Suite #350
Minneapolis MN, 55413 - 1-866-741-5331
- 612-314-7482
- info@gene-matters.com
