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Presenter Bios and TitlesOgden-Family
History Conference:
Juan Balderas Nápoles Nací en Texas EEUU de una madre que era maestra de escuela primaria y de un padre militar y técnico en medicina; los dos eran norteamericanos nacidos de madres y padres mexicanos. Mamá y Papá criaron a sus siete hijos en un hogar SUD y en una variedad de bases militares y de poblaciones en Oklahoma y Texas. Después de servir como misionero en Sudamérica y durante mi primer año de estudios universitarios tomé por primera vez un curso sobre los procesos de la genealogía formal de un experto llamado Joseph Grant Stevenson. En mi bendición patriarcal recibí una exhortación de activarme en la historia familiar y la obra vicaria del Santo Templo. Desde entonces se me ha dado la oportunidad de conocer mejor a mis antepasados del pueblo de Lehi y a los de Europa, y de efectuar las ordenanzas de la Casa del Señor a favor de ellos. Doris Bateman Doris Bateman graduated from Davis High, attended WSU and graduated from BYU with a degree in Sociology and Psychology. She has worked in various social service work positions. She has been actively working in and teaching family history for the last twenty years, and has been a Stake Family History consultant. Currently she is a Family History Consultant in her ward and serves on the staff of the Ogden Family History Center where she has taught classes in Roots Magic, newFamilySearch, and documentation. She has planned the curriculum for this conference for the past two years. She is married to Douglas G. Bateman and has 6 children and 9 grandchildren. Warren Bittner CG Warren Bittner, holds an M.S. in History and works full-time in genealogical research, lecturing, consulting and writing. He was assistant director of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy in 2010. He is the former German Collection Manager for the Family History Library in Salt Lake where he planned microfilming, indexing, and internet publications. He made several appearances on the PBS television series, Ancestors 2. He has done extensive research in U.S., German, and Swiss records, and is an expert in late nineteenth-century New York City Research. He is a former member of the Board of Directors for the Utah Genealogical Association. He is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, The Palatines to America Society, and the Mid-Atlantic German Society. He is married to Nancy Ruth Christensen and is the father of three children. Mike Booth Michael T. Booth is Vice President of RootsMagic, Inc. An accomplished trainer, Michael used over 30 years of computer programming experience to create "Personal Historian" (organize and write personal and family histories) and "Family Atlas" (create and publish maps of your family tree.) He is also a developer of the RootsMagic genealogy software. He, his wife Sandy, and their five children reside in South Ogden, Utah. Steve Brey Steven Brey serves as the FamilySearch Support manager for the North America Central and Utah North areas. He has had a wide variety of assignments in his thirty-five year career with the Family History Department. Steve holds a BA degree from the University of Utah and an MPA from Brigham Young University. Debbie Burnett Debbie Burnett lives in Sandy, Utah with her childhood sweetheart and husband Mike. She grew up in California and raised a family of 9 children, 3 of whom were adopted Indians. Their family had fun with saying that they had 3 cowboys, 3 cowgirls, and 3 Indians. The family moved 15 years ago to Utah and have blossomed into 26 grandchildren so far. Debbie has been involved with family history since she was a teenager and so has been through the great computer technology changes. She is an Indexing Director for her area and also serves as a Church Service Missionary in the downtown Family History Library. Debbie taught patrons and missionaries New FamilySearch and now teaches FamilySearch Family Tree. Karen Clifford, AG Karen began her genealogy career as a volunteer serving in family history centers in Minnesota, Texas, Virginia, and California where she helped thousands of patrons, was asked to develop staff training and eventually was asked to serve as a director. She has earned credentials as a college instructor and professional researcher and has been sought after as a staff trainer for genealogy companies, served twelve years on the Federation of Genealogical Societies board, and still works as a volunteer to organize local genealogy societies. As president of a California research genealogy corporation with offices in Utah, she has worked with some of the brightest and most accomplished professional genealogists of this generation, and has learned something from each of those associations. As an adjunct college instructor in Monterey, California and Salt Lake Community College, she is sharing her expertise with a new generation of technologically friendly students. She has published books with Genealogical Publishing Company, Ancestry.com, Genealogy Research Associates, and the former Genealogy.com. Her instructional manuals, textbooks and online curriculum materials cover both traditional and electronic research. They address the full range of abilities from the complete beginners to those desiring to become professional researchers. Carolina Aranda Symes de Espinoza Carolina nació un miércoles 11 de noviembre en Santiago de Chile. Sus padres Pablo Juan Aranda y Valeria Symmes. Hermana mayor de tres hermanos, quienes crecieron en un núcleo familiar SUD. Su padre siendo un Ingeniero Comercial, estaba atento que sus hija tuviera una excelente educación, e hizo un estudio para saber cuáles eran los mejores colegios de Santiago de Chile, entre ellos estaba el Colegio Deseret, SUD. A él le gusto por su alta educación moral que enseñaban a sus alumnos. Desde ese momento Carolina comenzó a conocer el Libro de Mormón y muy pronto su familia era miembro activa de la Iglesia SUD. Actualmente, ella es voluntaria del CHF de Ogden y Lider de HF de su barrio, lo cual ayuda a muchas familias hacer su genealo gía. Su meta es lograr lo que Nuestro Padre Celestial le ha mandado, “hacer la obra vicaria por todos sus antepasados fallecidos”. Ella ama la obra del templo y dice que es un arduo, largo pero hermoso camino que las bendiciones vienen a diario en la vida cuando nuestro Padre Celestial nos da un gozo infinito e indescriptible. Las bendiciones están a la puerta y solo hay que tomarlas y trabajar juntos con el Señor. CVAS/2012carolina A Phil Dunn Phillip Dunn is a Senior Research Consultant at the British Reference desk at the Salt Lake City Family History Library, with Accreditations® in England and Scotland genealogical research. He has worked as a Project Manager in Family Records Extraction over the British 1851, Canadian and U.S. 1881 and 1880 census records, as well as the Temple Ordinance extractions, the Team Lead in projects for numerous VIPs from around the world. His most recent contributions are found in the Wiki.FamilySearch.org for numerous counties in especially England and in Ireland. He is author of Guide to Ancestral Research in London, and has lectured in the U.S., Canada and the UK and Ireland. He has worked at FamilySearch.org since 1978. Arlene Eakle, PhD, AG Arlene H. Eakle, Ph.D., is the president and founder of The Genealogical Institute, Inc. and a professional genealogist since 1962. She is an expert in tracing ancestors from the Southern States including the Appalachian Triangle-Southwest Virginia, Northeast North Carolina, Southeast Kentucky and East Tennessee. Her research for Scotch-Irish and Native American pedigrees from this Triangle, although difficult to document, is especially successful. She is experienced in New York research, tracing ancestors from New England and New Jersey across New York into Pennsylvania, Ohio and Tennessee. She is skilled in researching English, Scottish, Irish and Swiss German ancestors. Dr. Eakle was one of the founders and original trustees of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She currently edits four serials, and is a prolific writer with more than 90 titles to her credit. Barry Ewell Barry J. Ewell resides in Riverton, Utah. He is the founder of MyGenShare.com. He is a writer and researcher with extensive genealogical experience in internet and field research, digital and software resources and mentoring genealogists. Research interests include Eastern U.S., United Kingdom, Scandinavia, Germany, and Russia.
Gaylon Findlay Gaylon Findlay is the president of Incline Software, the company that creates Ancestral Quest. Incline Software is based in South Jordan, Utah. Gaylon has been developing genealogy software since 1993, and is the primary author of both Ancestral Quest and Personal Ancestral File. Prior to his work in genealogy, he spent his high school years in Frankfurt, Germany, served an LDS mission in Finland, graduated from Brigham Young University and spent 12 years in the San Francisco Bay Area as a computer consultant. He is married to Gale Johnson of Westminster, California, and they are the parents of 5 children. Emil Hanson Emil O. Hanson, PhD., is currently serving as the Director of the Ogden Family History Center. He has been an educator most of his adult life, retiring 15 years ago, as the Dean of Student Administrative Services at Weber State University. He is married and is the father of 6 adult children with many grand and great grandchildren. He is a convert to the LDS faith and will testify of the importance of family history work. Joanne Hanson Joanne was born and raised in Salt lake city, Utah. She graduated from West high School and Business school in Salt Lake. She later graduated from Weber State University with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Education. She is married to Emil O. Hanson, Director of the Ogden Family History Center. She is the Mother of five boys plus one daughter and another daughter (a Niece) Grandmother and Great Grandmother of many special ‘beings’. She retired as teacher and coordinator at Head Start with Ogden City Schools. She has served with her husband as a missionary and a volunteer at the Ogden Family History Center for the past fifteen years. She has taught many courses at the center over that period of time and been a presenter at many family history conferences. She has been a co-creator of Teaching manuals and a CR for the center. She has been a lifelong volunteer in church activities and was a leader in the Cub Scouts program for over fourteen years. She is the third generation family history gatherer with a daughter coming along as the fourth generation. Janet Hovorka Janet Hovorka received a B.A. in Ancient Near Eastern History and a Master's Degree in Library and Information Science from BYU. She accepted teaching and library positions at BYU and Salt Lake Community College before having her three wonderful children. She and her husband, Kim Hovorka, own Generation Maps (www.generationmaps.com), an online genealogy chart printing service that was the first company to be FamilySearch Certified by the LDS Church. She writes The Chart Chick blog (www.thechartchick.com), winner of the 2009 Geneablog award. She is currently serving as Vice President of the Utah Genealogical Association and has presented 100s of lectures all over the country to help countless people find out more about their family’s history. Kris Jackson Kris Jackson is a Community Advocate for FamilySearch Indexing Workforce. She is passionate about indexing and the important role it plays in researching families. She comes to FamilySearch with a background in education. She graduated from Brigham Young University in Physical Education and started Backstage Dance Academy soon afterwards. Having shared her love for dancing with others for more than 14 years, she turned her main focus to family. She spent 10 years in post secondary education helping hundreds of students through the process of getting started in college. One of her greatest joys is to see the change that comes in the lives of her students as they learn, gain confidence and overcome life challenges to earn their education and graduate from college. She and her husband, Robert live in Lehi, UT and have four children. Fran Jensen Fran Jensen, MPA, is employed by the Family History Department in Salt Lake City, where she is a FamilySearch social media manager. She has worked on the development of the FamilySearch Research Wiki from its inception and currently works on the research community efforts through social media including Facebook, Skype, Google+, Twitter, and others. Eleanor C. Jensen Eleanor C. Jensen lives in Riverside with her husband, Robin. She is the mother of 11 children and 33 grandchildren. She is an elementary school teacher two days a week and serves two days a week at the Church History Library in Salt Lake City as a service missionary. Family history has always been a favorite hobby and she currently serves as Family History Consultant in her ward. She loves to collect new stories that continue to build and bind her family to each other. Don Koldewyn Don Koldewyn graduated from Weber High School, Weber State College and the University of Utah. After retiring ten years ago, he has been “anxiously engaged in a good cause,” which is family history research, specializing in the Netherlands. He is a ward Family History Consultant and a volunteer at the Ogden Family History Center, where he is always excited to help people learn how to use the online Netherlands databases. Barbara Lewis Barbara continues as staff member at the Ogden Family History Center, helping patrons with their British research. In the past year she has taken a keen interest in Find-A-Grave, periodically teaching classes in this important resource. Sam Lower Sam received a Bachelor’s Degree in Mechanical Engineering from USU, followed by a Master’s of Engineering and Technology Management from Southern Cal. He has served as the mayor of Plain City and is the chairman for the Weber Area Council of Governments. He has served at the Ogden Family History Center since 1994, spending many years as an Associate Director. He is the father of six children, 19 grndchildren, and some really great great grandchildren Bradley Marchant Bradley D. Marchant is a native of eight states. He has been doing family history research since he was 16 years old, so nearly half of his life. He is currently employed as a Scandinavian consultant at the Family History Library. Bradley regularly does research in multiple languages and is known for his keen sense of research skills and thinking outside of the box. He loves a good challenge! When not chasing down ancestors, he can usually be found chasing his dog Prince Caspian on hikes! Margo McKinstry Born in Canada, Margo’s love of the British Isles comes from her ancestry and living in England as a child. A Research Consultant with British Reference in FamilySearch, she received her accreditation for England in March 2008. She is a qualified instructor at the Family History Library, presenting at numerous conferences and has also authored several genealogical publications. Margo’s passion is teaching others genealogical research in the British Isles. Presently living in Kaysville, Utah, Margo is married, and the mother to seven children and nineteen grandchildren. Mike Miller Vice President of Sherwood Electronics Laboratories, Inc. Mr. Miller has an MBA from the University of Utah and extensive work history in finance, accounting and computer hardware and software. He was a co-founder of IO Corporation, Baseline, Centerline Aviation and Sherwood Electronics and has been developing genealogy software for over 11 years. He and Jack Sherwood are the developers of Branches, a new graphical approach to family history software. Leonard Plaizier Leonard Plaizier has served at the South Davis Family History Center since 1996 as an Advisory Council Member, Technology Specialist, and Outreach Specialist. Leonard has been associated with the South Davis Family History Fair in various capacities the past 11 years. He enjoys bridging genealogy and technology. Luis y Marta Quintana Somos naturales de Ponce, Puerto Rico y nos unimos a la Iglesia de Jesucristo de los santos de los Ultimos dias en el año 1977. En el año 1985 nos movimos a Maracaibo, Venezuela por mi trabajo y en el 1990 llegamos a Utah. Desde que nos bautizamos en la Iglesia nos sentimos muy responsables por la Historia familiar y desde entonces hemos estado embarcados en esta gran obra por la salvación de nuestros antepasados. Al trabajar por ellos les hemos sentido muy cerca y esperamos encontrarles algun dia para poder decirles que ya les conociamos. En el año 1995 trabajé como obrero (veil worker) en el Templo de Jordan River. Hemos trabajado como consultores de Historia familiar y actualmente somos voluntarios en el Centro de Historia Familiar de la Región de Ogden (ORFHC). Ben Reeves Ben Reeves grew up in Roy, Utah and graduated from Weber High School and Weber State College. While at Weber State he participated in a special summer Program sponsored by Weber State, Cal State Fullerton, and the Utah State Historical Society for training in and the use of Oral History. Edith Reeves Edith Reeves graduated from Davis High and Weber State College with a major in History and minor in Library Science. She selected both fields with the intent of researching family history. She served a mission in the Switzerland Zurich Mission. She married Ben Reeves a year after return. They have 5 children and 5 grandchildren. Currently she is serving as Family History Consultant, and as a church service missionary in newFamilySearch and Product Support. As a staff member at OFHC, Edith teaches classes in newFamilySearch. Andrea Schnakenburg Andrea Schnakenburg is the Training Coordinator at SharingTime. Shortly after graduating from BYU, she started work as a graphic designer for Ohana Software genealogy software company. It didn't take long for her to catch the genealogy bug and has now been teaching classes for over 4 years. She lives in Provo with her husband of 6 years and their 2 year old daughter. Diahan Southard Diahan Southard graduated from Brigham Young University with a degree in microbiology. As an undergraduate she worked in the archeogenetics laboratory of Dr. Scott Woodward. In 2000 that lab became the basis the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation (SMGF, www.smgf.org). Annie Strawn When Annie came to the US years ago as a young bride who spoke only Danish, she found a job at the Family History Library, where she worked for several years. She knows Denmark and Danish research from the point of view of a native and has taught these skills to others for many years. Ron Tanner Ron Tanner is a product manager for the Family History Department. His primary responsibility is to lead a team doing research and design of Family Tree and companion products. Ron has a master’s degree in Computer Science from BYU and has previously worked as a product manager and engineer at Novell, Citrix, and Bell Laboratories. Ron and his wife CheRee have four children, 2 son-in-laws, a daughter-in-law, and one grandchild (expected in June). Amanda Terry & Samantha Sulser Amanda Terry Samantha Sulser Tristan Tolman, AG Tristan L. Tolman, AG is a professional genealogist, author, editor and publisher. She has a BA in Family History and Genealogy from Brigham Young University and is accredited in the Mid-Atlantic States. Tristan has been actively involved in the genealogical field for nearly twenty years. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). She specializes in U.S. research, documenting early LDS ancestry and preparing genealogical information for publication. She and her husband, Blair, are the parents of five children. Arron Wheeler Arron Wheeler received his BS and Master of Education Degrees at Weber State. He served and LDS Mission in Ecuador from 1982-1984. He is a Spanish teacher in a junior high school and has traveled to schools in Ecuador, Spain & Costa Rica. He has been involved in genealogical research for several years and is a well known family history teacher and consultant in his local area. Arron and his wife, Dianna, have four children and live in Plain City. Ed Williams Edward C. Williams graduated form BYU in Psychology and later a Masters in Counseling and Guidance. He has been an elementary counselor for 38 years. He has been a family history volunteer at the ORFHC for a couple of years where he and his wife Eunice have taught beginning classes in New Family Search, and helped youth groups in doing research.
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