What Went Into Planning the 2025 TSGC AEC?
By Jana Heady
At the end of February, many of us were able to meet in San Antonio for the TSGC Annual Education Conference (AEC). This year’s conference was especially memorable for its location at Morgan’s Wonderland (an ultra-accessible theme park), a keynote address by Morgan’s father, and the beloved “chromies” crocheted by a team of San Antonio GCs. As planning for the 2026 TSGC conference begins, I had the chance to interview the incredible team behind the 2025 TSGC AEC, Dina El Achi, Melyssa Garner, and Morgan Nutter, to learn more about their experience putting together this year’s conference.
Texas Transcript (TT): Congratulations on wrapping up a successful conference! Starting from the beginning of this process, what made you decide to become a committee chair for the AEC?
Co-Chairs: Morgan was the first to sign on! Dina was quick to follow, and Melyssa completed the team! It seemed like a great opportunity to take part in a TSGC tradition and showcase what the San Antonio genetics community had to offer.
TT: This year’s theme was “The Stories that Make Us.” Where did this theme originate from, and why was it chosen?
Co-Chairs: We had a few brainstorming sessions trying to find a theme that would resonate with genetic counselors across the state and in various seasons in their training and career. It became very clear early on that our patient and personal stories needed to be the focus. We believe that as genetic counselors, we are at our best when we stay connected to the stories of those we serve, so we wanted to explore how these narratives shape our practice. We wanted to highlight the families, patients, and clinicians whose stories are at the heart of our work.
This also turned into the foundation for the location we chose to host the conference; Morgan’s Wonderland, an ultra-accessible theme park in San Antonio. It was the perfect example of patient stories transforming their own families, and ultimately, an entire community!
TT: One of the highlights of this year’s conference was the crochet “chromies” each attendee was given. Where did this idea come from, and what was the process of making the “chromies” like?
Morgan: About a year ago, I suggested handmade crochet chromosomes as conference gifts—and honestly, Dina and Melyssa thought it was a bit crazy! But I rallied over 20 volunteers from across Texas to bring the idea to life. We organized “Chromie Parties” to teach everyone how to crochet, and despite some initial doubts (Melyssa and Dina, I won’t forget!), we made it happen.
A huge thank you goes out to all the crocheters who helped: Morgan, Dina, Hailey, Jen R., Josie, Rebecca, Olivia, Molly, Melissa, Sarah, Kara, Caille, Jen W., Libby, Ene, Christina, Ashley, Nour, and Nina.
TT: What were your favorite parts of preparing for this conference?
Morgan: Of course it was the chromies! I was determined to make this dream a reality, and it was so exciting to watch! I actually started by recruiting local San Antonio crocheters who helped with no strings attached. Once our team learned to crochet, our chromie count skyrocketed! We even had a chart that we would fill in with our total chromie count every Friday until we met and even exceeded our goal!
Melyssa: I had a great time getting together with everybody to stuff the goody bags for attendees! It was a good excuse for a lot of us to get together, and it was fun seeing the different items that we had made for the bags, such as the chromies and stickers. Bonding with Morgan and Dina over the past year was a huge bonus, of course!
Dina: It was definitely getting to work with Melyssa and Morgan! This conference was probably one of the hardest things I’ve been part of professionally and it was a year in the making, so I know for a fact that had it not been for the two of them, it would’ve been impossible. I also loved having the opportunity to brainstorm topics for different sessions and watching incredible GCs (who are both mentors and friends) speak so expertly about the things they are passionate about!
TT: What were some of the biggest challenges you encountered as you prepared for the conference?
Morgan: My biggest challenge was the little issues we ran into related to the venue in the few weeks leading. There were technical difficulties with the A/V system that required a lot of troubleshooting. It was stressful having to worry about something so crucial to the conference leading up to it, but thankfully everything ran smoothly the day of!
Melyssa: Juggling all the different sponsors and their selections was definitely a challenge. With all of the different (and similar sounding!) sponsorship options, it started out being difficult to keep track of everything. Organization and reorganization was crucial to making sure nothing was missed. In that same vein, sponsors like to push deadlines. It’s easier said than done, but you have to decide when to remain firm in the deadlines you have set.
Dina: For me, it was probably the task of recruiting speakers who were willing to speak and finding topics that would resonate with GCs in various walks of life. We wanted to make sure that everyone took away something useful, so it was a challenge and big responsibility. But I’m grateful for Morgan and Melyssa (as well as patient co-workers) who let me bounce ideas off of them!
TT: What was your most significant personal take away after wrapping up the conference (either from the conference itself, or the process of planning it)?
Morgan: Planning a conference is not easy by any means. The three of us spent a year together brainstorming, planning, and putting together the conference. We met formally just about every week and would meet informally throughout the week too. That’s a lot of time together- so make sure you do it with amazing people!
Melyssa: It’s vital to recognize your limits and know when it’s time to ask others for help. Flexibility is key too. We started out choosing different aspects of the conference we would be responsible for, but if we ever became overwhelmed, it didn’t matter what was supposed to be “our” task.
Dina: I have so much to learn! Both on the professional and personal level, the conference was a great (and somewhat steep) learning curve when it comes to learning how to delegate, how to trust the expertise of other genetic counselors, and countless other little tasks that we don’t typically learn in our training or clinical practice. It was a wonderful way to work those muscles and open my eyes to ways that I can use my training in a non-clinical setting.
TT: What can TSCG members do to help make future AEC Conferences a success?
Co-Chairs: Volunteer! There are so many little and big tasks with various degrees of commitment that need to be done, and you may be the person for the job! The co-chairs are often doing big tag items but rely on the Texas GC community to volunteer as speakers and panelists, share ideas for topics they feel are worthwhile, and help with day-of tasks (setting up meals, running slides…). Reach out early and ask how you can be helpful!
TT: What advice would you give to GCs who are interested in planning the AEC or other genetics conferences in the future?
Co-Chairs: Find a reliable and solid group to work alongside you! This is vital. It’s a long and tedious process, but incredibly worth the effort, and made all the more enjoyable if you are able to trust and lean on the people working with you (i.e. other co-chairs). Also, as difficult as it may be for us type-A GCs, delegate, delegate, delegate!
We are still looking for additional co-chairs for the 2026 AEC in Austin, TX. Please reach out to thetexastranscript@gmail.com if you are interested in serving as a co-chair this upcoming year!
The 2025 TSGC AEC left us with lasting memories, and if you want to read more about the 2025 TSGC AEC, check out the Texas Transcript article on the top 10 takeaways!