Presenters - 2026
Alzo, Lisa Eastern European Researcher Biography Lisa A. Alzo, MFA, is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Slovak/Eastern European genealogical research, writing your family history, and using the Internet to trace female and immigrant ancestors. She grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1987 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997. Sessions Beginning Slovak Genealogy |
Announced, To Be Sessions Pending Update - Austro-Hungarian Track Pending Update - German Track Pending Update - German Track, 2 Pending Update - Germans from Eastern Europe Pending Update - Germans from Eastern Europe, 2 |
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Behrmann, McKenna Cooper Professional Genealogist Biography Mckenna Cooper Behrmann, MSc, AQ, QS is a professional genealogist specializing in areas of the former Austro-Hungarian Empire. She earned a masters degree Genealogy, Heraldry, and Paleography from the University of Strathclyde. She currently works as a Slavic research specialist for FamilySearch. Sessions Map Resources for Eastern European Reseach Czech Cadastral Maps |
Champenois, Charlotte Noelle Professional Genealogist Biography Charlotte Noelle Champenois, AG®, AGL™, originally from Allerød, Denmark, and a long-time resident of Utah, is accredited in Germany Northwest, Denmark, Sweden, Austria, and Switzerland and has a BA in genealogy. She was a German and Nordic Research Specialist at the FamilySearch Library for almost six years and recently became a Technical Historical Records Linguist focused on building machine learning training datasets (based on historical genealogical documents) to improve the accuracy of computer-read records. Sessions German Civil Registration Czech Research |
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Copher, Rhonda M. Professional Genealogist Biography Rhonda M. Copher, Ph.D., is a professional genealogist and dual American–Hungarian citizen specializing in Hungarian family history research. She founded Hungarian Ancestors to help diaspora families decode Hungarian records and reconnect with their Magyar roots. Sessions Hungarian Surnames Decoded: What Your Ancestral Name Reveals for Genealogists |
Day, Sarah Professional Genealogist Biography Sarah Day, AG is a Professional Genealogist specializing in United States research, with a particular love and interest in African American Family History. She received a Bachelors degree from Brigham Young University (BYU) in Genealogy-Family History in 2025. Additionally she is accredited in the United States Southwest region. She is an Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) Board of Director and founder of the Young Professionals Special Interest Group at APG. Sarah loves researching, helping others find family and making genealogy fun and engaging for those of all ages. Sessions Reading German Script for Genealogy Research - With Confidence! Historical Context for Eastern European Family History Statistical Analysis for Your DNA Matches |
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Diamond, Lara Professional Genealogist Biography Lara Diamond began researching her own family around 1989. She has traced all branches of her family multiple generations back in Eastern Europe using Russian Empire-era and Austria-Hungarian Empire records. Most of her personal research is in modern-day Ukraine, with a smattering of Belarus and Poland. She has done client research leading to their ancestors in many parts of the former USSR, Poland, Czechoslovakia, Romania and more. Sessions Using Jewish-specific Sites for Non-Jewish Eastern European Research Mandatory Conscription in 1850s Russia & Its Societal Impacts Leveraging the Power of J-Roots for Jewish Russian Empire Research Jewish Roots in the Russian Empire: A Guide to Research Resources |
Edlund, Thom Immediate Past President of FEEFHS, Senior Foundation Researcher Biography Thomas K. Edlund is a specialist in East European languages and manuscripts. A retired professor of family and local history at Brigham Young University, he taught curricula in East European genealogy, micro-regional history, and paleography. Sessions Reading Polish Records in Russian Russian Empire Research Methodology Revision Lists & 1897 Census |
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Everett, Joe FEEFHS Media contact, Researcher, Lecturer Biography Joseph B. Everett, MLS, AG is the Family History, Local History, and Microforms Librarian at the Brigham Young University Harold B. Lee Library. He is an Accredited Genealogist with over 25 years combined experience in the genealogical field at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Ancestry.com, and BYU. Sessions Finding Online Records for Poland WWI & WWII Memorial Databases |
Feldstein, Banai Professional genealogist Biography Banai is a professional genealogist based in Salt Lake City, Utah, specializing in Jewish and Eastern European research. She has volunteered with the Utah Jewish Genealogical Society in various officer positions for over 15 years. Banai is also a website developer, with a bachelor's degree in computer science, and is the creator of CSI: Crowd Sourced Indexing, a free platform for organizations to use to more easily index genealogy records. Sessions A Hebrew Crash Course for Reading Jewish Gravestones |
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Garber, Emily H. Researcher, Lecturer Biography An archaeologist by training (B.A., and M.A.), Emily H. Garber is a Jewish family history researcher, writer and speaker. She holds a certificate from Boston University's Genealogical Research program and owns Extra Yad Genealogical Services. Sessions It's What They Answered To: Understanding Ashkenazic Jewish Names All Was Not Lost: Researching Relatives in Europe During World War II |
Gardner, Marissa Historical and Forensic Genealogist Biography Marissa Jean Gardner is a professional genealogist specializing in Germanic and Slavic research, including work with historical handwriting, parish records, and civil registration systems across Central and Eastern Europe. She is a Research Consultant at the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City, where she builds internal training, develops research resources, and assists patrons with complex genealogical problems. Marissa frequently works with German, Polish, Hungarian, and Russian Empire records and brings a practical, method-based approach to helping researchers gain confidence in foreign-language documents. Sessions Essential Skills of Reading Polish Records in the Russian Partition: A Hands-On Handwriting Workshop Language Shifts in Russian Empire Records: Focus on Polish Partition Navigating German Localities with Gazetters and Historical Maps Finding Places in the Russian Empire: Essential Gazetteers & Tools |
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Hatch, Ethan Sessions Croatian & Slovenian Genealogy: A Comprehensive Guide to Online & Offline Records |
Hoffman, Suzanne L. Forensic Researcher Biography Forensic specialization working on Probate and Heir searches originating in Illinois or Eastern Europe. Available for any local, state, or federal document retrieval in Cook County and Lake County, Illinois. Expertise in Jewish heritage and record access from Lithuania, Belarus, Ukraine, Poland, and other Pale of Settlement territories. In-depth knowledge of Immigration and Naturalization records. Personal family History Research in Cook (with record access to restricted records) and Sangamon Counties of Illinois; Norfolk, Suffolk, and Middlesex counties of Massachusetts; states of Maine and Rhode Island. Sessions Immigration Challenges with the Russian Volunteer Fleet Between Libau-Rotterdam-New York |
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Jacobson, Cynthia Family History Researcher Biography Cynthia Spurgat Jacobson has researched ancestors in Kreis Rosenberg, West Prussia and the Suwalki Governorate, now southwestern Lithuania. She has published four 600 page fully cited, family history books, one on each grandparent plus three addendums. Sessions Do You Have Someone Famous in Your Family? The Circus Spurgats How the EWZ Records Can Enhance Your Family Story |
Jones, Daniel Professional Genealogist Biography Daniel R. Jones, AG, is an accredited genealogist specializing in Germanic and Slavic research. Awarded a BA in Family History/Genealogy from Brigham Young University and a MS in Early Modern European History from the University of Utah, Daniel has been working professionally since 2003. He has conducted on-site research in church and state archives in a dozen European countries, including Poland and Belarus. Sessions Chain Migration from Poland Visiting a Polish Archive |
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Juengling, Fritz European Research Specialist Biography Fritz Juengling, Ph.D., AG, earned a BA in Secondary Education and a BA in International Studies German Emphasis, graduating with Honors from Western Oregon University. He attended the University of Minnesota where he received his Master’s and Ph.D. in Germanic Philology with minors in both English and Linguistics. Sessions Beginning German Research: Websites & More Genealogical Value of German Guild Records Genteam.at: Website for Research in Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovenia and Slovakia |
Khuda, Alina Genealogist (court, probate, forensic) Biography Alina Khuda has a BA (Hons) and MA (Hons) degrees in Social Studies and Politics, studied in the USA (sponsored by the US government). She participated in GOI Peace Foundation and UNESCO projects from 2009. Sessions Lutheran Parish Registers and Confessional Records in the Baltic Provinces |
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Kirkpatrick, Kathleen Professional genealogist Biography Kathy Kirkpatrick earned her B.A. in History from Humboldt State University at Arcata, California. She is a past President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Utah. Kathy has written family histories, genealogical and Italian research instruction, and volumes on American Prisoner of War Camps. Kathy speaks locally and internationally on a variety of topics. Kathy's research takes her on-site to Italy since 1997 (including the Vatican Secret Archives since 2015), as well as close to home in the FamilySearch Library in Salt Lake City. Her websites are at Gentracer for genealogy and for military research and cemeteries. Sessions 20th-Century Polish Military Burials & Cemeteries Worldwide Polish Resettlement Camps Before & After WWII |
Kuzminskaite, Lina Professional genealogist Biography Lina Kuzminskaite was born and raised in Lithuania and holds a Master’s Degree in Political Science. She came to the United States in 2014 and joined AncestryProGenealogists®, a research division of Ancestry®, in 2015. Lina is a genealogist researcher on the team that specializes in immigration, Eastern European, and Jewish research. Over the past 11 years, she helped numerous clients discover their roots in present-day Lithuania, Latvia, Poland, Belarus, Ukraine, and Moldova. Sessions Introduction to Lithuanian Genealogical Research (Part I) Introduction to Lithuanian Genealogical Research (Part II) |
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Monson, Patrick Historian, genealogist Biography Patrick received a BA in family history-genealogy, emphasis Eastern Europe, from BYU; an MA in Estonian History from the University of Tartu; and a PhD in History, emphasis East European legal history, from Princeton University. He currently serves as a content strategist for Eastern Europe at FamilySearch. His book, Judges of Empire: Legal Cultures, Language, and State Transformation in Imperial Russia’s Baltic Provinces, 1860–1917, is forthcoming with De Gruyter Brill Press. Sessions Unfiltered: Ukraine's Soviet Filtration Records Online Basic Baltic Research |
Nelson, Greg Researcher, Lecturer Biography Greg Nelson is the Content Strategy specialist for East Europe/Europe at FamilySearch. His moonshot goal is to reconstitute all the families in his ancestral homelands of England, Scotland, Denmark, and Sweden. Sessions State of Records Access in Poland |
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Ortiz, Jalyse Accredited Genealogist Biography Jalyse Ortiz is an Accredited Genealogist® in Eastern Germany. Jalyse works at the FamilySearch library in SLC as a Slavic research consultant. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology and a minor in family history and genealogy. Jalyse’s research interests include Poland, Germany, Czechia, the United States, and DNA research. She completed an internship at Auschwitz Birkenau Memorial and Museum. Sessions How to Research in Prussia-Poland: Part 1 How to Research in Prussia-Poland: Part 2 |
Pohontsch, Milan FEEFHS President, Lecturer, Researcher Biography Milan Pohontsch is a native German and Wend at the same time. He does genealogical research in both languages and has almost 30,000 hours of research experience in original records and microfilms/digital images. Sessions The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries & How They Affected Our Ancestors |
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Schott, Carolyn Professional Genealogist Biography Carolyn Schott (CG) has researched her German ancestors for 20+ years, following their wanderings through Eastern Europe before arriving in the U.S. She is one of the founders of the Black Sea German Research Community (GRHS), and author of the book, “Visiting Your Ancestral Town.” Sessions The Accused Ancestors: Building A Family Tree from NKVD Arrest Records |
Sher, Joanne Researcher, Lecturer Biography Joanne M. Sher is a professional genealogist & historical researcher specializing in Northeastern Minnesota, Northwestern Wisconsin, American-Jewish research, and World War I era records. Sessions Finding the Village of Origin Finding the Village of Origin - Optional Consultations Belonging & Benefitting: Ethnic Organizaitons, Mutual Aid Societies, Immigrant Banks & Landsmanshaftn Two-way Migration: Immigrants Who Came to the U.S. and Returned Home |
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Silverman, Dr. Janette Professional Genealogist, Ancestry ProGenealogists Biography Dr. Janette Silverman is a professional genealogist, heading a team of researchers specializing in Eastern European and Jewish research at AncestryProGenealogists® the division of Ancestry® that does private client research. Her research on behalf of clients takes her all over the U.S. and Europe. Sessions Navigating JewishGen Off the Beaten Track in Lithuania Helene's Journey |
Szabó, Dorothy Archivist, Curator, Writer Biography My name is Dorottya {Doro} Szabó, I'm a senior archivist and founder of Bóbita Családfa - in English: Dandelion Genealogy. I have a Master's Degree in History and Literature & Linguistics from the Péter Pazmany Catholic University and speak English, German and read Latin. Sessions Where to Search: Record Location in Hungarian Genealogy - Between Displaced Records and Structured Communities |
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Tanner, James L. Genealogy researcher Biography James L. Tanner holds a B.A. in Spanish and an M.A. in Linguistics from the University of Utah, as well as a J.D. from Arizona State University. He served as an Intelligence Analyst in the U.S. Army for two years and spent 39 years as a trial attorney in Arizona. With over 44 years of genealogical research experience, James is the author of the Genealogy’s Star blog and has produced over 500 genealogy videos on YouTube. He previously served for ten years as a missionary at the Mesa FamilySearch Library and is currently serving at the BYU Library Family History Center. He is a member of the FamilySearch GEDCOM Steering Committee, Chairman of the Board of Directors of The Family History Guide Association, and a member of the Coalition for Responsible AI in Genealogy. James has presented at expos and conferences across the U.S., Canada, and Europe. Sessions Investigating Latvian Jewish Vital Records from the Latvian State Historical Archives Using AI Ethically for Genealogical Research The Historical Transition of the Hundreds of Jurisdictional Entities of the Holy Roman Empire after 1806 |
Tarkulich, Bill Researcher, Lecturer Biography With over 30 years of genealogical research, Bill Tarkulich, BSEE, MBA, began his research unaware of his ethnicity or where his grandparents were from. With his own list of “dead-ends”, he inventively used archival sources to identify the Carpatho-Rusyn villages of Zboj and Nova Sedlica in the northeast corner of today’s Slovakia. Within two years, and before the capabilities of today’s internet, he corresponded with cousins by mail, travelled to his ancestral villages, spent two weeks living in his cousin’s homes. He was introduced to countless relatives in eastern Slovakia, walking for miles on old roads and paths and being offered far too many glasses of vodka or slivovice. Needless to say, the stories flowed. Sessions Break Through "Brick Walls" Hands-On Workshop Stop Looking for Surnames & Break Through Brick Walls |
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Trotter, Suzanne Genealogist Biography Suzanne Trotter earned her Bachelor’s Degree in Family History and Genealogy at Brigham Young University (BYU) in Provo while concurrently earning her Bachelor’s in English. While attending BYU, she studied under Roger P. Minert, PhD, under whom she participated in research in Europe and America, and had the opportunity to work on several publications, including German Immigrants in American Church Records (volume 1) and German Immigrant Case Studies (volumes 1 and 2). She also had the opportunity to present various presentations across the country and abroad. Sessions Advanced Slovakian Research |
Unrau, Annette Archivist, FamilySearch Biography Annette Unrau is an archivist, genealogist, and library information science professional at FamilySearch, where she identifies personal, family, and cultural narratives through systematic research and archival practice. Her work centers on appraisal, preservation, and processing, transforming collections into accessible, well-documented resources for researchers and communities. Sessions Reading the Habsburg Map Austro-Hungarian Empire Census , and Where Those Are Today |
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Wendt, Stephen Professional Genealogist Biography Stephen Wendt, MLIS, is a professional genealogist, speaker, instructor and writer. Stephen assists global clients with their diverse genealogical research needs. A specialist in Prussian/Germanic and Scottish genealogy, he regularly speaks on a variety of genealogical topics at the international, national and at the local level. Stephen may be reached at: stephen [at] rootsquestgps [dot] com Sessions Getting Across the Pond with German Emigration Records |
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