About Me
Thanks to my paternal grandmother, I grew up with a passion for family history. This interest lead to earning a certificate in Family History and Genealogy from the University of Washington in 1999. My career in nursing (BSN, Washington State University, 1982; MN, University of Washington, 1988, Board Certified Geriatric Nurse Practitioner, 1993-2018) kept family history as a parallel interest for many years. I continued my research on my family as my nursing career took me to each of the 50 states, most Canadian provinces, and several countries abroad. I have visited libraries, archives, and courthouses throughout the US and Canada and driven around the backroads of states and provinces searching for places with links to my ancestors.
I started offering professional genealogy services in 2018.
Professional Development (selected)
- National Genealogical Society Quarterly Study Group (2020-present)
- Your DNA Guide Academy Endogamy and Y-DNA skills courses (2021)
- Institute for Genealogical and Historical Research: Military Records I: The Colonial Era to the Vietnam War (2021)
- Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh: Law School for Genealogists (2021)
- ProGen 46 professional genealogy peer study program (March 2020-May 2021)
- Eastern Mennonite University, Center for Justice and Peacebuilding: Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience I (2020) and II (2021)
- Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh: Women and Children First: The Hidden Half of the Family (2020)
- Your DNA Guide Academy DNA Skills Workshop (2020)
- Midwest African-American Genealogy Institute: Intermediate Genealogy, Pre- and Post- Slavery Era Research (2020)
- Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh: Advanced Genetic Genealogy (2019)
- Institute for Genetic Genealogy (2017, 2018)
- Certificate in Genealogy and Family History, University of Washington, 1999
Memberships
- Association for Professional Genealogists
- National Genealogical Society
- New England Historic Genealogical Society
- Daughters of the American Revolution
- British Columbia Genealogical Society
- Virtual Genealogy Association
- Coming to the Table, an organization dedicated to “working together to create a just and truthful society that acknowledges and seeks to heal from the racial wounds of the past, from slavery and the many forms of racism it spawned”
- Motivational Interviewing Network of Trainers, an international group promoting excellence in communication to improve well-being
Genealogical Interests
- Genetic genealogy
- Geographic Experience: United States and Canada, including Tennessee, Missouri, Virginia, North Carolina, West Virginia, Kentucky, Alabama, Georgia, South Carolina, Mississippi, Arkansas, California, and Nova Scotia
- African-American family history
- The role of family history in personal identity and healing
- Family history research as a catalyst to address historic injustices
- Communication skills for genealogists
- Non-traditional ways to share family history (video, children’s books)
- US westward migration
- The history of medicine
- Daily lives of ancestors
- Involving children in family history
Building knowledge, skills, strength, and resilience through
connecting people to their family history.