Jack Butler
Jack Butler, of Kissimmee, Florida, is an experienced professional genealogist, lecturer, and author who has been helping folks track their ancestors for more than ten years. As a 6th generation Floridian, with strong ties to neighboring states, he has researched extensively throughout the South. But as his client’s ancestors frequently came south from points north, Jack has also conducted significant work in New England, Canada and the United Kingdom. He currently serves as Past President of the Florida State Genealogical Society and President of the Florida Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Maureen Brady
Maureen Brady, of Chicago, Illinois, a former school librarian and computer educator, has more than thirty years’ experience with family history research and is now a professional genealogist. She has traced her own Scottish roots back to the end of the 17th century and beyond, and has also pursued Chicago area, the trans-Allegheny U.S., Quebec, Irish and Swedish research. She is the co-director and trainer for the Crystal Lake (IL) Family History Center. Maureen has made numerous presentations to Illinois and Wisconsin genealogical societies, libraries, conferences and workshops, including presenting at the 2002 National Genealogical Society Conference in the States. Her topics include Chicago and Cook County research, Scottish research, Internet sources, and using FamilySearch® and Family History Centers. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and a life member of the Aberdeen and North East Scotland Family History Society, the Chicago Genealogical Society, the Ohio Genealogy Society and the McHenry County (Illinois) Genealogical Society. She is also active in the British Interest Group of Wisconsin & Illinois (BIGWILL), the Illinois St. Andrew Society’s Scottish Genealogical Group, the National Genealogical Society, the Lake County (Illinois) Genealogical Society and the Clan Donnachaidh Society.
Lisa Louise Cooke
Curious about your family tree? Save time and have quick genealogical success with Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems. Lisa sifts through all the new technology and genealogy resources to bring you the best family history resources – the “genealogy gems!” With Lisa, you’ll have fun taking your place in history! If you have a desire to learn more about your family history, you’ve come to the right place. Getting started can be confusing. And once you get up and running, inevitably you will run up against a brick wall or two. No matter where you are in your genealogy journey, we can help.
Everything we do at Lisa Louise Cooke’s Genealogy Gems is focused on helping you cut through the online “noise”, to quickly get to the real gems that can help your genealogical search flourish. We bring you only the best ideas, strategies, stories, and experts, leaving you more time to learn and put what you learn into practice.
Subscribe today to get each new video, then subscribe to the free Genealogy Gems Podcast in iTunes.
Jim Greene
Jim Greene is Product Marketing Manager at FamilySearch.org in Salt Lake City, Utah. After serving a two year LDS Church mission to Argentina, Jim graduated with bachelor degrees in both Spanish and Business Management from Brigham Young University, then earned an MBA degree from Penn State. Jim worked for IBM for 10 years in New York and Salt Lake City. Jim Greene has 30 years’ experience in the computer industry, working at IBM and Novell before coming to FamilySearch seven years ago as a Product Manager. Jim is the marketing manager over communication and messaging about all FamilySearch products. Jim is an avid bicyclist, and commutes daily to downtown Salt Lake City on his bike from his home in Sandy, UT. Jim and his wife Charity have 4 children.
Gregg Gronlund
Gregg Gronlund, of Orlando, Florida, is Branch Manager of the West Oaks Branch Library and Genealogy Center of the Orange County Library System. He is also a distinguished member of the Board of the Central Florida Genealogical Society, as well as its former president. He is also the former Head of the Genealogical and Law Departments at the Orange County Library System. Gregg graduated with a Master’s Degree from the University of South Florida and a BA from Duke University.
Jeff Haines
Jeff Haines, Raleigh, North Carolina, is a professional genealogist specializing in the Carolinas and British West Indies. He is a past president of the Association of Professional Genealogists and is the current president of the North Carolina Chapter. He is the author of the National Genealogical Society’s Research in the States Series volume on North Carolina and is a former editor of the North Carolina Genealogical Society Journal. He has been a board-certified genealogist since 1996.
Todd Knowles
W. Todd Knowles AG, of Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the world’s foremost experts on Jewish genealogy. He is the creator of The Knowles Collection which contains the records of almost 1.4 million Jewish people! He is a member of the International Patron Services team at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah. After being introduced to family history at the age of 12, he soon discovered his Jewish roots. The journey to find these Polish Jews has led to the creation of the Knowles Collection, six databases that as of May 1, 2016, contain the genealogical records of over 1.4 million people. Todd, a professional genealogist, has spoken throughout the world and his articles have been widely published.
Kory Meyerink
Kory Meyerink, of Salt Lake City, Utah, is one of the founding partners of ProGenealogists, and he has been involved in nearly every aspect of genealogy and family history for the past 30 years. He received an Associate in Family and Local History, and a B.S. in Psychology from Brigham Young University and a Masters of Library and Information Science. He spent two years on a mission for the LDS Church in Germany. He became accredited in four areas (Germany, Midwest, Eastern and New England U.S.), specializing in tracing the origins of German and Dutch immigrants. He was a consultant in the Family History Library, and also served as the primary content consultant for the PBS Ancestors television series. He also developed the largest genealogical gazetteer and largest genealogical bibliography available on CD-ROM. He served as a vice-president of Ancestry Publishing during its acquisition by Infobases and migration to the Internet as Ancestry.com, thereafter becoming the first manager of acquisitions. He resides in Salt Lake City with his family.
Denise Mortorff
Denise Mortorff , of Waycross, Georgia, began doing genealogy 40 years ago when she was just 21.She was working with the Tampa Public Library in their Florida Collection at the time. She currently has two research courses on-line at Familysearch.org. (Probate in England and Livery Companies (apprenticeship) in England). Mortorff has spoken at different conferences, including BYU’s Genealogy and Family History Conference twice. She published a family history recognized by the Nat’l Gen. Soc. and used in establishing the standard for copyrighting family histories in the U.S. A graduate of BYU’s Mgt. School in Org’l Behavior with experience leading her to teach several years at a university. She has been blessed with two children currently in France and China and two grandchildren!
Daniel Poffenberger
Daniel Poffenberger AG® is the Supervisor of the British Research Team for the Family History Library of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints in Salt Lake City. He is accredited by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) in English research. He has been a professional genealogist for 26 years and has also worked as a US and Canada Research Consultant. He received a Bachelor of Arts Degree from Brigham Young University in Political Science, with a minor in Family and Community History. He and his wife Keirstin have been married for 28 years and have 5 children. Dan has presented at hundreds of conferences around the United States and around the world!
Dr. George Ryskamp
Dr. George R. Ryskamp, JD, AG, of Provo, Utah, is a Professor of History at Brigham Young University has 40 years of experience working in the archives of Spain and Mexico, and is the author of numerous articles and books on Hispanic research and a regular lecturer at national and international conferences. He specializes in research in the Romance languages, evidentiary methodology and United States probate and legal systems. His bio contains over 13 pages of accomplishments! He is married to Peggy Ryskamp who is also teaching here at the conference today!
Peggy Ryskamp
Peggy Ryskamp, of Provo, Utah, served as co-editor of the Genealogical Journal (Utah Genealogical Association) from 1998-2000. She has spent over thirty years researching in the archives of Spain, France, and Mexico, enjoying the challenge of puzzling out difficult handwriting and finding details of ancestral lives. A Certified Genealogist and co-author of the book Finding Your Mexican Ancestors, she has taught Southern European Research classes at the BYU Salt Lake Center, and presented at multiple conferences throughout the United States.
Betty Jo Stockton
Betty Jo Stockton is a native of Orlando and a retired school librarian, with a Bachelor’s & Master’s degree in Education/Library Media. She has volunteered as a genealogical librarian at the Par St Family History Center for more than 22 years and teaches genealogy classes throughout Central Florida. As a member of the Board of the Central FL Genealogical Society, she serves as corresponding secretary and publication chair. She edits the Society’s quarterly journal, Buried Treasures, and is the author/compiler of 17 books of Central Florida records. She also served as Genealogical Research Chair for the Orlando DAR Chapter. She has been working on her own family’s history for almost 50 years, and finally documented her great grandfather after a 45-year search.