My Story.

Family history is absolutely a tradition in my family! Not only both sets of my grandparents and some of their progenitors did research, but also aunts, uncles, cousins, and my mother, Olivia, wrote their histories, and were keepers of the family genealogy.

Some of my earliest memories were traipsing through cemeteries, knocking on doors of potential relatives, and looking at giant books in courthouses with my mom.  Many of the family “vacations” that we took were devoted to reunions and visiting extended family. I have continued the family tradition as one of the keepers of my family’s genealogy, and my children, nieces, and nephews are no strangers to a long road trip to visit relatives!

Growing up in the DC-Metropolitan area had some incredible perks for a Family History pro!  The Washington D.C. Family History Center, located in Kensington, Maryland, was a mere 10 minutes away from my hometown of Bethesda, Maryland. My mom and I not only spent hours of our free time performing research and consulting other genealogical professionals, but we also worked as volunteers and Family History Consultants for many years. I can definitely attribute the development of my skillset to the years that I worked at the FHC and along side my mother.

Serving as the Family History Chair for one of my extended family organizations, as well as operating as the reunion president for 4 years, were two of my most rewarding experiences. I was given the opportunity to connect with extended family, some whom I had never met. Creating activities, programs, designing family history material and events centered around educating our family about their ancestors, was hard work, yet, a rewarding experience.  It may sound like a small undertaking to be the director of a family reunion for some, but planning a four day event with an attendance headcount of over 200, and numerous volunteers, was quite the feat to execute every year; especially when I lived in a different state then the venue sight!  

In addition to reunion oversight and management, I was also on-call to develop a collaborative effort in protecting, expanding and preserving our genealogy, stories, and memories for future generation. This lead to stretching beyond my abilities to developing and offering education presentation + classes for those who wanted to learn some of my favorite tools & resources: Family Search.org and Ancestry.com. It was perfect preparation for what I do now!

After hanging up my Presidential cap, I was called to serve as a Family History Missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints on the FamilySearch Research Team in 2015-2022. As a team lead on the FamilySearch Facebook Genealogy Mission Team, I was responsible for staying up to date on the ever-changing social & digital landscape within the framework of genealogy. I served as an administrator for FamilySearch’s Genealogy Research Communities on Facebook, and then as the training lead for our mission. I provided in-depth training on how to manage and navigate our Facebook genealogy communities, engage and connect with our patrons, and keep in step with genealogical search engines such as FamilySearch.org, as well as the available social media platforms. Also, I have been instrumental in developing the Missionary Handbook for Facebook Genealogy Mission Team, a few YouTube channels, many training presentations, and several family history activities.

This favorite quote by an unknown author expresses the reason I committed and still endeavor to pass on and teach what I’ve learned. “As we approach the sunset of our lives, the greatest legacy we can leave to our posterity is a life full of example that will stand as a beacon of goodness for generations to come.” The truth in these simple words have been illuminated by the love passed on to me through the lives of my ancestors. How grateful I am for my heritage. 

Family History is not just a passion for me; it’s a calling. I remember clearly telling my mom and my children, “If I could help people find their ancestors, uncover their family stories, and build their Family Trees all day, every day, I would!” Well, here we are!