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The pace of discovery in genetics has exceeded all expectations, conceivably impacting people around the world. Join PGED to ensure all communities have a voice in shaping the future.

Your Donation Matters

Since 2006, we have created programs in partnership with people and communities in classrooms, places of worship, writer’s rooms, and informal learning spaces. Your donation can support our team in producing free resources, expanding our programs, and reaching more people.

What We Do

In the Classroom

PGED recognizes that conversations about genetics are truly conversations about us all. These conversations happen in classrooms every day. We create free lesson plans and mini-lessons for educators to introduce cross-disciplinary concepts about genetic science, history, and social studies into their classrooms.

Today’s students are tomorrow’s leaders, thinkers, and decision-makers. This is why reaching teachers and students is pivotal to our mission. Learning about genetics and society can empower students to be prepared to make decisions about health, policy, the environment, and more when important choices are presented. Our free educational resources and professional development workshops support educators in preparing students for the future.

Your donation will enable us to reach more classrooms, train more educators, and translate our resources, ensuring more students can engage meaningfully with genetics and its implications for society.

Science & Faith Partnerships

Faith communities play a core role in many people’s lives. Faith leaders provide meaningful learning opportunities and serve as trusted sources of advice, support, and information.

We partner with faith leaders like those at the Science & Spirituality Institute in Nebraska to provide opportunities for people of faith to learn, reflect, and share personal thoughts and experiences related to genetics. Your donation can support this work, helping us offer events like the “Genetics and Spirituality: Conversations at the Nexus of Science and Faith” conference at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Science & Society Partnerships

Meaningful engagement can empower people with information for making decisions about rapid technological shifts in society. This kind of engagement is critical for fostering inclusive conversations about genetics.
Genetics professionals are uniquely positioned as experts in the field to facilitate dialogue about complex biological questions. Public engagement and science communication skills can be learned and developed to support these efforts. We offer workshops, webinars, and conference presentations that equip genetics professionals to engage with people on relevant personal genetics topics.

Our ongoing partnership with the Genetics Society of America has produced workshops and presentations on genetics, public engagement, and science communication at The Allied Genetics Conference (TAGC) and an award from the National Science Foundation. Support us in continuing this work by donating today!

Storyteller Collaborations

Stories on screens go beyond entertainment – they captivate people’s imaginations and inspire new ideas. Science fiction stories have demonstrated this effect, with an impact on social ideology and behavior.

We are working with talented storytellers to bring genetics into narratives explored on TV and in movies. By weaving these ideas into popular media, we encourage people to consider how genetic discoveries affect our world.

Through our collaboration with the Social Impact Entertainment (SIE) Society, we have hosted a webinar and created digital resources that guide storytellers to integrate concepts about genetics, ethics, and society into their work. Your donation can help us inspire storytellers to write accurate, relevant, and nuanced stories about genetics.

Community Learning

Everyone should have opportunities to learn, discuss, and reflect on the impact of genetics on our world. Our informal education programs engage communities in sharing and learning about genetics and society.

Informal learning spaces are the “living room of the community,” as quoted by one of our library partners. PGED brings discussions of personal genetics into communities through events such as ‘Introduction to Personal Genetics’ library programs, museum presentations, and hands-on learning experiences for after-school programs. Your support helps us offer meaningful programming in the places where communities go to learn and explore.

Hear from Our Community

People are at the core of everything we do at PGED. We are grateful to our colleagues and collaborators who kindly shared with us what our work has meant to them. This selection of anonymous testimonials come from educators who have used our resources in their classrooms or have participated in our professional development workshops.

“Students were asking great questions and sharing ideas and thoughts – all at the [Middle School] level.”

“I was 100% just amazed and grateful and appreciative of how open the [PGED] presenters were to us and the type of questions we’d ask and willingness to have conversations we don’t normally have in this state.”

“What struck me was how carefully the wonderful people at PGED have put together socially, culturally relevant applications of biotechnology…These are the conversations my kids need to be having now.”

“My kids loved talking about bioethics, it was the highlight of their year…the various viewpoints in the classroom, and being able to discuss them respectfully, to say, ‘I don’t agree with what you’re saying, but I understand….’ That’s amazing to see.”

“The information is delivered…with respect that is shown to all humanity.”

“This lesson was a thoughtful and thorough overview, I look forward to using such a professional PPT. I appreciated the conversation with peers.”

“Nice overview…The lecture touched on many different areas of genetics, giving enough depth that the students should be learning something, but not too details that they’ll get too caught up in information overload. There was a little bit of something for everyone (ancestry, law/prosecution, privacy, first nations and cultural differences, genetic testing for risk, transplants and disease correction…), showing how genetics touches all parts of our lives.”

“Fantastic module. So important to bring to the conversation, including the anti-eugenics movement. I liked the wide variety of topics to highlight different areas of genetics.”

Support Our Vision for the Future

We believe that a safe and equitable future for genetics is possible when people everywhere are aware, engaged, and empowered. PGED is sparking this transformation by engaging with community leaders, including educators, faith leaders, health advocates, filmmakers, scientists, and policymakers.

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Learn About Our Impacts

Our programs produce meaningful outcomes for people, communities, and society at large.

Impacts

Support Us by Donating

Our work is funded entirely through grants and donations. Join us in promoting awareness and dialogue about genetics by donating today.

Donate Today

To Mail a Donation:

Harvard Medical School

Alumni Affairs and Development
P.O. Box 419720

Boston, MA 02241-9720

Please write “Personal Genetics Education Project Fund” and specify if your donation is for a specific item on your donation. Thank you!

Thank You to Our Funders

Due to the generosity of our funders, PGED has grown from a volunteer effort to an organization with dedicated staff. We are grateful to the individuals and organizations who have provided funding to support collaborative projects and advance our mission.