A Little About Me

I have a Bachelor’s degree in History from Missouri University of Science and Technology in Rolla, Missouri. I have been researching genealogy and history for more than 16 years.

For about three years I have been blogging about my research on my personal family history blogs, Generations Blog  and I am also a co-founder of The In-Depth Genealogist written specifically for kids.

My previous job experience was working in the education field as an administrative assistant and part-time educator at the Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois. From there I moved into the IT department and built and managed databases for the aquarium. I learned a lot about databases, compiling information, building reports, and working with a variety of people with different backgrounds and goals for the projects. The database projects required many of the skills genealogists use – attention to detail, gathering and analysis of information, and reporting.

Education

I completed the ProGen Study Group 10. This is an 18-month online collaborative learning program. The program introduces students to all the aspects of running a professional genealogy business. I am also completing the National Genealogical Society Home Study Course. This is an educational course with 16 lessons to teach students about all the different U.S. record types, research skills, evidence analysis, and writing skills. Both programs offer a certificate at the conclusion.

 

Associations

I am a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists;  I am also a member of the Federation of Genealogical Societies (FGS), Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors, the Illinois State Genealogical Society (I hold a Director position on the board), the DuPage County (IL) Genealogical Society,  the Czech and Slovak American Genealogical Society of Illinois.

Writing

I author and publish family history books for my clients at the completion of their projects. My new series, Branching Out consists of genealogy textbooks for both children and adults. Thirty lessons cover the basics of beginning research. Additional books will be released in this series in 2012. I wrote and published a book about Flying Tiger Robert Brouk, To Soar with the Tigers.  I have also published many Ebooks on the Kindle and Nook such as Family Tree Projects for Kids, Locating World War I Records, Using Excel for Genealogical Research, and Locating Chicago Property Records. I have been published on Archives.com’s Expert Series. Please feel free to click on the links and take a look at some of my work.

I also have contributed articles to the journals for the National Genealogical Society, Czech and Slovak American Genealogical Society of Illinois, and Webster County Missouri Historical Museum.

Disclosure

Please click here for more information.