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.
Lisa is the author of eleven books, including The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide, and the award-winning Three Slovak Women, and hundreds of magazine articles.
Lisa is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine and works as an online educator and writing coach.
She also developed the Eastern European Research Certificate Program for the International Institute of Genealogical Studies Lisa is a frequently invited speaker for national conferences, genealogical and historical societies, and webinars.
An avid genealogist for more than 30 years, Lisa also chronicles her family history adventures on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist.
Visit Lisa's website for more information.
Sessions
Beginning Slovak Genealogy
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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
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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.
Charlotte is a co-founder of DecipherInk, a mobile tool to help genealogists learn paleography and the vocabulary relevant to deciphering genealogical records.
She is also a transcription and translation assistant for Germanology Unlocked, and is an Associate Records Analyst for the German Immigrants in American Church Records (GIACR) project; she has collaborated on eighteen published GIACR volumes and coauthored a book on Austrian research.
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
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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.
She is president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Maryland, is JewishGen’s Director of Subcarpathia Research, and is a strategic advisor to JewishGen’s Ukraine Research Division.
She has lectured around the country and internationally on Jewish and Eastern European genealogy research as well as genetic genealogy.
She also runs multiple district- and town-focused projects to collect documentation to assist all those researching ancestors from common towns.
Lara blogs about her Eastern European and Jewish research at her blog.
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
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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.
He has authored many books on language and genealogy, including The Lutherans of Russia, Die Ahnenstammkartei des Deutschen Volkes, Medieval Latin for Family Historians, An Introduction and Index to the German Minority Census of 1939, and A Compendium of Nahuatl Dialectology.
He served as editor of the FEEFHS Journal from 1998 to 2008.
Professor Edlund was nominated as a Fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association in 2016 for his distinguished contributions to genealogy and family history scholarship.
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.
Joe manages the collections and patron services of the BYU Family History Library and serves as a faculty liaison to instructors in BYU's Family History undergraduate degree program and others involved in family history on campus.
At FamilySearch, Joe was a library program manager providing services for the more 5,000 family history centers.
Previously at FamilySearch, he headed the International Reference floor at the Family History Library, and also worked for several years as a technical services librarian, cataloging Slavic and Germanic records.
He has served on numerous strategic planning and program development teams at FamilySearch.
At Ancestry.com, he worked in content acquisitions and content product and project management, putting genealogical databases online.
Joe earned a B.A. in Russian Language and in Family History/Genealogy (Germanic emphasis) from Brigham Young University and a Master of Library Science from Emporia State University (Kansas).
He has been a member and officer in various library and genealogical associations and has lectured and published articles on U.S. and European family history research, historical geography, and migration.
Sessions
Finding Online Records for Poland WWI & WWII Memorial Databases
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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.
Emily blogs at hfps://extrayad.blogspot.com/, has written two books and several articles that have appeared in Avotaynu and NGS Magazine.
She has spoken at NGS and IAJGS conferences and coordinated week-long Jewish genealogy seminars for the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.
She is chair of the Phoenix Jewish Genealogy Group, Vice President of the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, and a director on the board of the Arizona Jewish Historical Society.
Sessions
It's What They Answered To: Understanding Ashkenazic Jewish Names All Was Not Lost: Researching Relatives in Europe During World War II
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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
Associate Genealogist
Biography
Ethan Russell Hatch was born in California but has lived most of his life in Utah.
He will soon graduate from Brigham Young University with a double-bachelors in Family History: Genealogy and Russian.
From 2021 to 2023 he served a two-year mission for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints in Ukraine, Croatia, and in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
In the summer of 2025, Ethan interned at the Auschwitz-Birkenau State Museum Archives in Poland, where he was awarded the Museum Director’s Award for his efforts.
He recently finished a Slavic research internship at the FamilySearch library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Ethan is currently employed by Ancestry as an Associate Genealogist in German Research.
He is also working on becoming an accredited genealogist in Poland.
He has a deep passion both for Eastern European genealogy, especially in the Balkans and Poland, and for helping others learn about their own family history.
Sessions
Croatian & Slovenian Genealogy: A Comprehensive Guide to Online & Offline Records
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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.
Currently, the Immediate Past President of APG, President of the APG Forensic SIG, Chair of the Jewish Research SIG, a member of the Record Preservation and Access Coalition, the President of the Illinois State Genealogical Society, Chair of its Advocacy Committee, and Parliamentarian for the Chicago Genealogical Society.
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.
She has worked on the Germanic Genealogy Journal, publication of the Germanic Genealogy Society as contributor or editor for 25 years.
She is also the editor in chief of Die Weite (The Wandering) publication of the International Association of Germans from Lithuania, now in its 6 th year.
She has presented at SGGEE, a Connections session at IGGP, and FEEFHS where she has done presentations on Solving Brick Walls, Writing and Publishing a Family History Book, Results of Starting a Genealogical Blog, Researching in East and West Prussia, How Germans Came to East Prussia and Lithuania, and the International Association of Germans from Lithuania with Owen McCafferty II in 2022.
Sessions
Do You Have Someone Famous in Your Family? The Circus Spurgats How the EWZ Records Can Enhance Your Family Story
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Johnson, Baerbel
Professional Genealogist
Biography
Baerbel K.
Johnson, AG ® , is a professional genealogist and retired from the Family History Library as International Research Consultant.
She holds degrees in Family and Local History Studies and Sociology from BYU and has more than thirty years of extensive experience in European family history research with emphasis on Germany.
She has published several journal articles,
contributed material for several books, and lectured at various conferences.
Her personal interest is in “putting flesh on the genealogical skeleton” by placing each individual within a proper social and historical context.
Sessions
Compiled town genealogies and parish register indexes (recording from 2023) German phonics and Spelling for the Genealogist (recording from 2023) German Archives: Full of hidden treasures (recording from 2023)
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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.
He is currently a research specialist for Germanic and Slavic research for the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah.
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.
The highly specialized field of Germanic Philology combines languages, linguistics, paleography and history.
In completing the programs Fritz demonstrated competence in English, German, Medieval Latin, Dutch and Norwegian; and took courses in fourteen other languages, Latin and Greek philology, and both Latin and Middle English paleography.
Fritz has taught all levels of German, including Medieval German literature, and Old English (Anglo-Saxon) at the college level; German, English, and Latin at the high school level.
He is an accredited genealogist for Germany through The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists.
He is a European Research Specialist, specializing in German, Dutch, and Scandinavian research, at the Family History Library.
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
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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.
Moreover, she has extensive experience as a court expert, probate genealogist and a forensic genealogist from 2015.
Established KGS (Khuda Genealogical Services) in 2016.
She is an expert criminal genealogist in the US courts and a course editor for the University of Genealogical Studies.
With a sufficient experience in journalism and genealogy Alina and her team provide search of unknown relatives and missing beneficiaries for estates the USA, Canada, Australia, Germany, UK, EU.
An expert for genealogical data in the Eastern Europe, specialized in
Jewish Galician Records
Orthodox Christian
Old Believers
Greek Catholic
Roma Catholic
Evangelical Protestant
Mennonite records
She did research for the government, non-government organizations, attorneys, trustees, companies worldwide as well as tremendous amount of private clients.
Alina is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and Genealogical Organization «Nashi Predky» (NJ, USA)
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
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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
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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.
Greg holds a BA in Russian, MA in Slavic Linguistics and Literature, and a BS in Computer Science.
He resides in Stansbury Park, Utah.
For several years, Greg served on the FEEFHS board.
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
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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.
Milan is accredited in German research, a constant guest presenter at various genealogical conferences.
He has published several genealogy-related articles in the U.S. and Germany.
Milan has two engineer degrees from German universities and a Masters in Library Science from an U.S. university.
He currently serves as the president of FEEFHS.
Sessions
The Role of Convents and Monasteries in the 15th-19th Centuries & How They Affected Our Ancestors
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Schilling-Payne, Sandy
Genealogist
Biography
Sandy Schilling Payne grew up in New Mexico and attended New Mexico State University, double-majoring in Journalism and Mass Communications and English.
Upon graduation, she began working in the information technology field.
Sandy has been researching her German ancestors off and on since 1994.
Her research interests include historical geography related to genealogy and the settlement locations of Germans in the Russian Empire and their migrations to the present day.
She is a founder and the author of the Germans from Russia Settlement Locations project.
Her map data of German settlements has been incorporated into the website of the American Historical Society of Germans from Russia.
Sandy has served in the past on the Germans from Russia Heritage Society’s Heritage Review editorial review board.
She is currently the webmaster for the Glückstal Colonies Research Association and a member of the group Black Sea German Research.
Sessions
Time travel using historical maps (recording from 2023) The Germans from Russia settlement locations project (recording from 2023)
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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.”
Schott's research has required her to research records in the U.S., Germany, Ukraine, Moldova, and Poland.
The Black Sea German Research Community, which she helped found, is a website dedicated to helping people with hard-to-find information on their ethnic German ancestors who lived in areas bordering the Black Sea.
Schott has been speaking on genealogy-related topics since 2007 and has been published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly.
Sessions
The Accused Ancestors: Building A Family Tree from NKVD Arrest Records Discovering your Black Sea German ancestors (recording from 2022) From church archives to KGB archives (recording from 2023)
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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.
She has presented numerous times at the International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies, FEEFHS, Minnesota Genealogical Society and Wisconsin State Genealogical Society conferences.
Her articles have been published in the FEEFHS Journal, the Minnesota Genealogical Journal, MNopedia, and in various genealogical society publications.
She serves on the Board of Directors of the Jewish Historical Society of the Upper Midwest (JHSUM) and the Foundation for East European Family History Studies (FEEFHS).
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.
Janette holds a Doctorate in Jewish Studies from Spertus Institute.
Her dissertation, "In Living Memory" explored her family's journey from Europe to the U.S. from the 1880s to the 1920s, contextualizing their experiences.
Her journey into genealogy began over 40 years ago as a hobby with her dad.
It became an obsession and the two of them could be found at family gatherings asking endless questions.
Her mom taught her to love jigsaw puzzles as a child.
The lessons she learned from that are to look at problems and their solutions from many different angles.
Janette speaks at conferences all over the world virtually and in person.
She has published articles in The Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly, The Tennessee Historical Quarterly, Avotaynu, and Galitzianer.
She wrote “Genealogy at a Glance: Finding Eastern European Jewish Ancestors” as part of the Genealogy at a Glance series.
Her book Stories They Never Told Me was published in August 2024 and is available in paperback and as an eBook.
She travels extensively in Eastern Europe doing archival research and accompanying clients on visits to their ancestral villages.
Sessions
Navigating JewishGen Off the Beaten Track in Lithuania Helene's Journey
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Szabó, Dorothy
Archivist, Curator, Writer
Biography
My name is Dorottya {Doro} Szabó, I am 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.
As a senior archivist of the National Archives of Hungary, I worked with original records as well as with digitized archival material and online databases.
I have had the privilege of participating in national and international projects related to the archival world and genealogy, as an archivist, curator, writer or professional leader.
In family history research I always try to turn dry data into imaginable, flesh-and blood ancestors, using varieties of databases as well as archival and library sources.
I post about these topics regularly on YT and offer online course too.
I'm married and live with my husband and son (and a dog and a turtle) in the Hungarian Capital, Budapest.
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
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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.
His strong pre-1918 historical interest includes regional history throughout Slovakia, Ukraine and southern Poland and to all immigrant populations regardless of ethnicity or religion.
He freely shares his imaginative, beyond-the-obvious approaches with researchers worldwide through papers and at dozens of conferences on topics including local history, archives, military, census, church records, customs, culture and geography.
His web site, iabsi.com was an early leader in the presentation of English-language resources for Slovakia and neighboring countries.
He is a past board member of the Carpatho-Rusyn Society.
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.
Suzanne has excellent skills working with documents in German and Latin.
She also has experience working with Spanish, French, Czech, Slovak, Hungarian, Dutch, Polish, etc.
Language skills aside, she’s used a variety of record types in the U.S. to track family migrations and identify immigrant origins.
Sessions
Advanced Slovakian Research
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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.
She is currently completing her MLIS at San José State University and interning at Stiftung Schloss Gottorf, where she catalogs archaeological collections and adapts international archival standards to German institutional contexts.
Her experience includes genealogical research and reference consultation, collection appraisal and processing, multilingual cataloging, and bridging analog and digital documentation methods.
Based in Schleswig, Germany, she is especially interested in archives, libraries, museums, and genealogical institutions that value rigorous research practice and international collaboration.
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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