Ready for Her Close-Up: An Interview with Elaine Strass

When I invited Elaine Strass for an interview, I had no idea she was planning to retire in the coming year. Elaine has been the hidden force behind both the Genetics Society of America (GSA) and the American Society of Human Genetics (ASHG) for almost 20 years, by serving as Executive Director for both organizations. Fresh, articulate, and cheerful, Elaine (see Image 1) has a lightning wit, great people skills, and zest for her work. She is our societies’ strongest champion, yet many of you may be unfamiliar with her. To catch up with Elaine, I flew to the ASHG meeting in San Diego in late October with a bit of trepidation and a lot of sadness for the residents there, as fires were devastating the outlying areas. From the window seat on my evening flight, I easily spotted at least half a dozen blazes in the distance. It was a spooky sight, reminding me of the strong natural forces that shape our planet, but I couldn’t help likening the vista to red fluorescent probes beaded along interphase chromosomes against the black landscape of a FISH experiment. Unannounced, I located Elaine the following morning at the ASHG headquarters in the convention center. We popped a few batteries in the recorder, turned on the machine, and we were off— literally! At a quick pace and with effervescent description of the success of the meeting so far, she swept me along to show me the new booth that ASHG had designed to advertise the next International Congress of Human Genetics. She was ready for her close-up. Jane Gitschier: How long have you been the executive director? Elaine Strass: I became the executive director of ASHG and the Genetics Society of America in 1992, when Gerry Gurvich, who had started the Washington office in 1983 for the two societies, decided to retire. It was the first time either society had had an office, and they decided to do it together for economies of scale. They shared staff and that is still true to this day. JG: How did you land this job? ES: Well, I started off as a concert pianist, and I wasn’t very good and I needed to get a day job. The only thing I really knew how to do was type. So I went back to school and learned a little bit about computers and word processing, which was the thing then. I was taught on a Wang system. I got various jobs doing word processing. I was staying home with my kids, so I wasn’t working full time, but I was having a wonderful time, and I was also doing a lot of concertizing in the community. JG: In Washington? ES: Yes, but I was never very famous. You have to put this in perspective, Jane. I’m a very good pianist, but I’m not a GREAT pianist. JG: What kind of concertizing did you do? ES: I was the official accompanist for the State of Maryland for competitions they had, like violin concertos, cello concertos. JG: Had you been a conservatory student? ES: I was a graduate of the University of Illinois. Bachelor of Music in Perfor-