NCGS 2021 Virtual Conference

Jeanne Larzalere Bloom

Jeanne Larzalere Bloom is a full-time professional researcher specializing in Chicago research, forensic genealogy, and problem solving. On behalf of the Department of the Army, she identifies family members of unaccounted servicemen from prior wars. Jeanne writes articles for scholarly journals and society publications. She is a frequent lecturer at conferences, workshops, and institutes.

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, LLM, CG®, CGL^SM

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson is a trustee and current President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. She earned a BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY, and both a Law degree and a Master of Laws degree from the New York University School of Law.

Jean Wilcox Hibben, MA, PhD

Jean Wilcox Hibben, former So. Cal. college speech professor (MA – Speech Communication; PhD – Folklore), is a national speaker and author. A member of the DAR, she is the former director and current staff trainer for the Corona, CA Family History Center, has worked on background research for two genealogy television programs, and hosts podcasts, with a couple of other genealogists, under the moniker Genealogy Journeys® (https://genjourneys.podbean.com). With over 40 years of research experience, she is a former board member of APG and 2019-2021 President of its So. Cal. Chapter, Officer in the Corona Gen. Society as well as webmaster for that same organization, and has participated on a number of other society boards. Her website: circlemending.org.

J. Mark Lowe, CG®, FUGA

J. Mark Lowe describes himself as a lifelong genealogist. He is a professional genealogist, author, and lecturer who specializes in original records and manuscripts throughout the South. Mark enjoys opportunities to share what he has learned over the years through YouTube, Webinars, and Institutes. He serves as the Course Coordinator for ‘Research in the South’ at IGHR (Georgia) and TIGR (Texas), does Webinars for Legacy Family Tree Webinars and has worked on several genealogical television series including Finding Your Past, African American Lives 2, Who Do You Think You Are? and UnXplained Events, and provided content for podcasts on Gimlet Media, including Twice Removed.

Sunny Morton

Sunny Jane Morton is an internationally-known genealogy educator and award-winning writer and editor. She is best known globally for comparing the world’s top genealogy websites, which she has done with custom content for U.S., U.K., Australian, Jewish and African American audiences. (A 2019 version given for Legacy Family Tree Webinars quickly became its 2nd most-watched webinar of all time). Her lectures are packed with try-this-now strategies and resources—and delivered with humor, humanity, and plenty of motivating examples and stories. Sunny is a longtime Contributing Editor at Family Tree Magazine; Contributing Editor and Content Manager for YourDNAGuide.com; frequent contributor to FamilySearch’s blog; and Editor of Ohio Genealogy News. Her books include How to Find Your Family History in U.S. Church Records, with Harold Henderson, CG, and Story of My Life: A Workbook for Preserving Your Legacy, now in its 2nd edition. Learn more at www.sunnymorton.com.

Craig R. Scott, MA, CG®, FUGA

Craig Roberts Scott is the author of The ‘Lost Pensions’: Settled Accounts of the Act of 6 April 1838 (Revised) and Records of the Accounting Officers of the Department of the Treasury, Inventory 14 (Revised). He has authored thirteen books and several articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Family Chronicle, and other genealogical publications. He is the President and CEO of Heritage Books, Inc., a genealogical publishing firm with over 5,100 titles in print.

A professional genealogical and historical researcher for more than twenty-nine years, Craig specializes in the records of the National Archives, especially those that relate to the military. He was the Clan Scott Genealogist (1985–2000). He is a member of the Company of Military Historians, on the editorial board of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly and is a Director of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Craig has been a faculty member for several years of the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (IGHR), Samford University, and the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), and recently the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). He was awarded the Grahame T. Smallwood, Jr. Award in 2008 and UGA Silver Tray Award in 2009. He became a Fellow, Utah Genealogical Association, in 2014.

Diahan Southard

Twenty-two years of experience is reflected in her passion for genetic genealogy, her genuine love for people, and her gift for making the technical understandable. She recently published Your DNA Guide – the Book, that takes you on a step-by-step journey with your DNA in order to find answers to your genealogy questions.

Ari Wilkins

Ari Wilkins, a graduate of Louisiana State University, has been actively researching family history since 1998. Ms. Wilkins has spoken nationally at the National Genealogical Society, Federation of Genealogical Societies, Texas State Genealogical Society, Ohio Genealogical Society, Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research, Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, American Library Association, RootsTech, and a multitude of local societies. Ari has been a Library Associate at Dallas Public Library since 2007. She teaches a series of basic research classes using popular genealogical websites. She specializes in African American research.