In mid-2021, an affinity group for students identifying as Black, Indigenous and people of color within Northwestern’s Graduate Program in Genetic Counseling was instructed to stop holding meetings.
According to former students, the group provided a space for BIPOC students to talk about their experiences in genetic counseling, especially in clinical settings.
A September 2021 email from NU Center for Genetic Medicine Director Elizabeth McNally requested the group’s meetings be halted, writing the group discriminated against white students by excluding them.
The meeting cancellations represent one of several indications of systemic issues in the GPGC relating to alleged discrimination. In a lawsuit filed in 2023 against the program, which reached a settlement in principle in October 2025, the plaintiff, former genetic counseling core faculty member Annie Bao, alleged racial discrimination, harassment and retaliation, including being terminated for speaking out.
In one court document, Bao’s lawyer wrote that McNally’s email “appears designed to justify adverse actions taken shortly thereafter.” NU never responded to this claim in its legal filings.
The University denied many of the lawsuit’s allegations but admitted an investigation in 2019 by its Office of Equity — now the Office of Civil Rights and Title IX Compliance — found “a hostile work environment existed within the Genetic Counseling Program.”
Emma, a former GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation from the University, said the cancellation of the BIPOC group’s meetings felt like “the end of a long string of disappointments.” According to the 2023 lawsuit against the program, the issues of discrimination and accountability Emma discussed date back several years before 2021.
The Daily interviewed seven former GPGC students, who corroborate these sentiments. Emma said concerns about microaggressions — and demands for accountability — were frequently “brushed under the rug.”
“When I did try to have a dialogue (with faculty members) about what I was witnessing and about what I had heard, I felt that I was treated very disrespectfully, and it severed a lot of trust and a lot of our relationships,” Emma said.
Four former students declined to speak on the record, and two declined to even speak anonymously. They cited fear of professional repercussions in the small genetic counseling community, where many program graduates are either employed by NU-affiliated institutions like Lurie Children’s Hospital and Northwestern Medicine, or work closely with those organizations.
Students across multiple graduating classes described a pattern where program leadership dismissed reports of discriminatory comments and unfair treatment — especially in clinical rotations and classrooms — or handled them inconsistently.
BIPOC group halted for ‘reverse racism’
Julia, a former GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation from the University, said an assistant director in the program told her and a group of students that the potential for discrimination against non-BIPOC students was why the group was instructed to stop holding meetings. Another former student described the reasoning as “reverse racism.”
“We were advised to direct the GPGC students to the resources, guidance and organizational support provided by the University and The Graduate School for forming and maintaining their student groups,” McNally wrote in an email to The Daily responding to the allegations.
The group ceased to exist after the meetings were stopped.
NU’s Office of the Provost updated its policy on University affinity groups in June, providing anti-discrimination guidance for these groups. The policy states student affinity groups must be “open to all students in both policy and practice.”
GPGC alumni interviewed by The Daily said they did not know whether the BIPOC affinity group would exclude white students, since white students did not attempt to join.
The Daily emailed 12 questions to the University regarding the Office of Equity’s investigation into the GPGC, whether any affinity groups have returned, how NU handles complaints about off-site rotation supervisors, how NU responds to alumni’s concerns about discrimination and what steps NU has taken to address these issues.
The University declined to answer the questions.
Emma, who was not a member of the affinity group but spoke with classmates who were, said the cancellation of the BIPOC affinity group’s meetings was “a huge loss” for her peers. She explained that the group allowed students to support each other as discrimination in the program persisted, and that meeting cancellations were perceived as retaliation against faculty advisers who spoke out against program leadership.
“For a lot of people, it felt like a definitive thing of like, ‘Oh, they don’t care, and they’re okay with inflicting this harm,’” Emma said.
In a July 2021 email also shared in public court documents, Janet Olivo, then-director of diversity & inclusion and outreach at the Feinberg School of Medicine, recommended “major changes” to the GPGC affinity group so it could “change” and “evolve.” Olivo’s email was in response to an email from then-Program Director Cathy Wicklund providing context about the affinity group, an indication that program leaders’ concerns about the group emerged before July 2021.
GPGC alumni told The Daily that program leadership did not meaningfully consult students about the BIPOC affinity group’s future after meetings were cancelled. Five years later, students told The Daily they are unsure if the group will return.
Lawsuit alleges program leadership members’ use of slurs
At the heart of Bao’s lawsuit is an incident that occurred in February 2019 during a leadership meeting about a Korean student facing racial hostility. In that meeting, former Assistant Director Elizabeth Leeth allegedly called Bao a racial slur, according to the lawsuit.
After a colleague reported the slur, Wicklund allegedly told Bao to forgive Leeth and failed to initiate an investigation or disciplinary process against Leeth.
“All of the higher-up faculty members in the program, as well as very experienced genetic counselors who serve as thesis advisors or work on research with people in the faculty, they’re so tight-knit, and they all protected each other and continue to protect each other,” said Barry, a former GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation from their employer.
In July 2021, NU issued a letter that stated Leeth had violated the University’s anti-discrimination policies. Leeth’s employment with the GPGC ended shortly after, but she still works as a genetic counselor at the Lurie center, which is affiliated with NU.
Leeth and Wicklund did not respond to multiple requests for comment from The Daily.
Following an incident where, according to the lawsuit, then-Associate Director Debra Duquette allegedly mocked the names of Asian applicants to the program, Bao spoke with the director of the Office of Equity about formal investigation options. According to the complaint, Wicklund allegedly “demanded” that Bao provide details about that conversation, told Bao she would not discipline Leeth and shared details with Leeth of her conversation with Bao.
NU denied both allegations, and Duquette was promoted to director of the program in August 2023.
In the complaint, Bao alleged that she was the only leadership member of her team without a director title or NU-provided health insurance and that a white colleague with similar duties was hired into a higher-ranking role. She also alleged program leaders repeatedly used racial slurs and offensive remarks, and she was discouraged from pursuing formal complaints.
NU denied that Bao was treated differently because of her race, that it tolerated discriminatory conduct and that Bao was fired improperly.
Bao declined to comment on any matters relating to her lawsuit against the University, but wrote in a Monday statement to The Daily that she was proud to be the first person of color on the leadership faculty of the GPGC, and that she is grateful for the time she spent there.
“It was an immense privilege to be a part of students’ training at Northwestern’s Feinberg School of Medicine, support their mental health and wellness, and witness them becoming practitioners who exceeded even their own expectations,” Bao wrote.
Students claim unequal treatment, lack of accountability
Clinical supervisors at off-campus rotation sites also discriminated against GPGC students, according to several former students who said they witnessed the discrimination. At these rotations, students are typically supervised by outside clinicians, rather than NU faculty.
“I felt like the voices of our non-white students were not being listened to when there were discriminating things happening at a supervisor level or in rotations,” Julia said. “Nothing was changing.”
Julia added that, in her experience, GPGC leadership often failed to address students’ concerns about individual supervisors. In one case, Julia said several students reported one supervisor for making a discriminatory comment to a student of color. The GPGC continued to assign students of color to that supervisor for at least one year after that, Julia said.
Jordan, a former GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation from the University, described NU’s relationship with rotation sites as a “structural issue.” The program rarely addressed complaints against clinical supervisors because it could not afford to lose rotation sites, Jordan said.
According to Jordan and Emma, NU often hesitated to cut rotation sites accused of discrimination because there weren’t enough alternative sites available, and students needed a specific number of supervised rotation hours to graduate and become board certified.
Each of the 24 rotation sites that were listed on the GPGC’s website in January 2021 are still listed today, and no additional sites have been added.
During Emma’s Professional Issues class, she said, a professor discussed how the program’s struggle to convince genetic counselors to supervise clinical rotations exacerbated the rotation site shortage.
At one of her rotation sites, Emma said she overheard a geneticist in a clinical rotation mock patients with mental disabilities behind their backs.
At the same site, Emma said she heard a supervisor make a comment that stereotyped a specific racial group. After lodging a formal complaint, Emma said she never received an update on any disciplinary actions taken against the supervisor.
“We didn’t have support, and we felt like there was nowhere for us to really turn to,” Jordan said.
Echoing Jordan, Emma said “a handful of supervisors” whom her peers had reported multiple times continued to supervise students.
Emma said she confronted two different program leaders about the claims of discrimination. Each time, she said she was treated condescendingly in social interactions with leadership after she spoke out, compared to when she was on “good terms” with them.
“The second that there was like a conflict, or we needed something in return, it was like, ‘We’re downgrading you, not even to student respect, but you’re like a child, and we’re not even going to address these things,’” Emma said.
Barry said they personally witnessed instances of what they considered microaggressions against students of color, including a professor using derogatory language to describe the facial features of an ethnic group.
“It was part of our education, learning about issues of DEI,” Barry said. “But when professors would either say off-color things in class, or you would hear about a supervisor saying something in clinic, those things were not addressed by the program at all.”
Barry said students read material about cultural competency and sensitivity for their classes, but that faculty members did not always adhere to these principles.
Robin, a current GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation, said she “struggled with” the fact that Duquette remained program director despite the allegations in the lawsuit.
“She is a fantastic resource, and I don’t think she would ever not help a student and not lend her expertise in those situations,” Robin said. “At the same time, it is still disappointing to hear that that allegation was out there that either did or didn’t happen. Even just the possibility of it happening is disappointing.”
Duquette declined to comment.
Recent cohorts grapple with history of alleged harms
Around the time Bao filed the lawsuit, the number of students enrolled in the program dropped from 20 students in the class of 2023 to just 12 students in the class of 2024.
Two former students told The Daily they believed this change was connected to changes in program staff related to allegations of bias and discrimination. The University did not respond to a request for clarification.
Program enrollment rebounded to 20 students in the class of 2025. Compared with earlier cohorts, three current and one recently graduated GPGC student told The Daily their day-to-day experiences in the program have been positive.
Despite occasional reminders of the issues raised in the lawsuit and by earlier classes, Emiko Waight (Feinberg ’25) said the program’s culture was “very supportive,” adding that she never experienced or witnessed any bias or discrimination.
Waight said “it was hard and weird” to learn more about the lawsuit, which she first found out about after she graduated — especially because she identifies as a mixed-race Asian American.
“Everyone who I’ve interacted with has been really kind and supportive,” Waight said. “Maybe things have changed — I don’t know. But I don’t want it to take away from the fact that I had a good experience.”
Charlotte, a current GPGC student who requested to use a pseudonym for fear of retaliation from the University, said she found out about the lawsuit from Reddit the day she matched with NU and quickly became “nervous” about her decision.
Upon arriving in Evanston, however, Charlotte said she instead found that the GPGC emphasized cultural diversity, gender issues and health disparities, adding that she feels supported by faculty.
Charlotte said program leadership acknowledged the lawsuit during orientation, saying they could not share many details but were working to improve the culture.
“They’re not perfect, but I know that they’re trying to right a wrong, even though they may not have had anything to do with it,” Charlotte said. “I think it shows to us that they truly do care about us a lot.”
Still, Robin said several of her current classmates in the GPGC have been harmed by microaggressions, citing outdated language in class lectures as an example.
Robin said she wants leadership to be fully transparent with current and prospective students about faculty who have faced allegations of perpetrating discrimination, yet continue to work in the program.
An honest conversation with students about what actually happened with the lawsuit — and enabled the behavior alleged in the lawsuit to happen — in previous cohorts would help as well, Robin said.
“You can’t really move on from a situation like this without taking accountability, and accountability requires that you acknowledge that there is some sort of harm,” Robin said. “If you’re not able to acknowledge that harm, there’s no way to move past it. If you’re unwilling to address what you did wrong, you can’t really meaningfully make things right.”
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