Center for Genetics and Society

What Center for Genetics and Society does

The Center for Genetics and Society (CGS) is a nonprofit public-affairs and policy-advocacy organization that works to encourage responsible use and effective societal governance of human genetic and reproductive biotechnologies. The organization is headquartered in Berkeley, California, and is fiscally sponsored by Tides Center, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit. CGS positions itself as bringing social-justice and human-rights frameworks into debates over human genetics, assisted reproduction, heritable genome editing, surrogacy, and related bioethics issues — distinguishing itself from scientific and industry voices in the field.

CGS does not sell products or services and operates no commercial revenue model; its "products" are content and convening. Offerings include a publications website (geneticsandsociety.org), the Biopolitical Times blog, the Talking Biopolitics webinar/event series, a video and multimedia library, an email newsletter, and active engagement with mainstream media (NPR, Le Monde, Stat, BioNews, Los Angeles Review of Books). Peer-reviewed research output includes work published in The CRISPR Journal documenting that 70 countries categorically prohibit heritable human genome editing. The organization is small (1–10 employees), led by Executive Director Katie Hasson and Senior Fellow Osagie K. Obasogie, with a recent leadership transition from long-tenured Executive Director Marcy Darnovsky.

CGS's go-to-market is influence-based: it targets policymakers, journalists, academics, allied advocacy movements (reproductive justice, disability rights), and the engaged public through earned media, events, coalition partnerships, and direct publishing. Its competitive positioning rests on being the consistent, justice-oriented counterweight in biotech policy debates rather than on any proprietary technology or commercial offering. Funding is presumed to flow through donations and grants via its Tides Center fiscal sponsorship, but no revenue, donor, or grant figures are publicly disclosed in the available source material.

Name

Center for Genetics and Society

Legal name

Center for Genetics and Society

Website

https://geneticsandsociety.org

Company type

Private

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The Center for Genetics and Society is a Berkeley-based, Tides-Center-sponsored nonprofit that advocates for responsible, socially just governance of human genetic and reproductive biotechnologies through policy analysis, public education, media engagement, and events targeting policymakers, journalists, and allied advocacy movements.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Bioethics Policy Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311)

akta.pro primary industry

Disease-Specific Research & Support (e.g., Cancer, Diabetes, ALS) (BPAGACAA)

Keywords

• Bioethics policy advocacy
• Human genetics oversight
• Reproductive biotechnology
• Social justice genomics
• Nonprofit policy research

Headquarters

HQ city

Berkeley

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

The Center for Genetics and Society is a nonprofit policy advocacy organization that conducts public education, policy analysis, and advocacy on the social justice, human rights, and equity implications of human genetic and assisted reproductive technologies. It produces commentaries, reports, and briefings and engages with journalists, policymakers, scholars, and the broader public to influence debate and policy on these biotechnologies.

Product overview

The Center for Genetics and Society is a non-profit policy advocacy organization (fiscally sponsored by Tides Center) focused on responsible governance of human genetic and reproductive biotechnologies. The organization does not offer traditional technology products; its primary offerings include a content website with publications, educational multimedia content, and policy resources covering topics such as human genetic modification, assisted reproduction, bioethics, disability rights, and reproductive justice.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Quantifiable outcome

• Research published in The CRISPR Journal finding that 70 countries categorically prohibit heritable human genome editing

Ideal customer profiles4 records

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Greenpeace: A large global environmental advocacy organization that has historically opposed genetic engineering in agriculture and engaged in biotech governance debates. Comparable to CGS in topic area and campaign style, though vastly larger in scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Public Citizen: A consumer and health advocacy nonprofit that engages in policy research and lobbying on issues including pharmaceutical pricing, FDA oversight, and biotechnology. It is comparable to CGS as a mission-driven policy advocacy organization pursuing public-interest outcomes in health and science.
• Council for Responsible Genetics: A nonprofit advocacy organization that, like CGS, focuses on social justice and consumer rights dimensions of genetic technologies. Both organizations occupy the policy-and-ethics niche in human genetics, with overlapping concerns about genetic discrimination, GMOs, and reproductive biotechnologies.
• Friends of the Earth: An environmental advocacy organization that has campaigned against genetic engineering in agriculture and synthetic biology. Comparable to CGS in its nonprofit advocacy model and engagement with biotechnology governance from a precautionary, civil-society perspective.
• The Hastings Center: An independent bioethics research institute addressing ethical issues in health, science, and technology. It is one of the closest comparables to CGS in the bioethics nonprofit space, publishing research and policy analysis on genetics, reproduction, and emerging biotechnologies.
• Center for Food Safety: A nonprofit advocacy organization that works on genetic engineering policy in food and agriculture. It parallels CGS's advocacy approach to biotechnology governance, focusing on GMOs and emerging biotech applications from a public-interest standpoint.
• Center for Science in the Public Interest: A consumer advocacy and science-based nonprofit focused on health, nutrition, and food safety policy. It shares CGS's nonprofit advocacy DNA and policy-oriented approach to science and technology issues affecting the public.

Regional players

• Nuffield Council on Bioethics: A UK-based independent bioethics advisory body that publishes influential reports on genome editing, reproduction, and emerging biotechnologies. Comparable to CGS in topic and policy impact orientation, though it operates primarily in the United Kingdom and European policy contexts.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/C_G_S
• YouTubeyoutube.com/user/geneticsandsociety
• Facebookfacebook.com/GeneticsandSociety
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/204798

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Center for Genetics and Society