Ogden Utah FamilySearch Center 2015 Conference presenter biography
2015 Ogden FamilySearch Library Conference
for link to the root Conference Wiki page click HERE
Presenter Biographicals (listed in alphabetical order) with class titles
Scott Allen
Scott has a MS degree in Instructional Technology and is an Instructional Technologist at Ogden-Weber Tech College. During his spare time, Scott enjoys learning about his family history and using technology to share information online and make connections with living relatives. Scott and his family reside in West Point, Utah.
Presentation Title:
55. Working with Ancestry.com and FamilySearch Family Tree
Amy Archibald
Amy Archibald is a family historian and reunion organizer with a passion for teaching others. She has spent 30 years researching her own family and 20 years teaching others. She lives in Utah with her husband and two children.
Presentation Titles:
7. Piecing Together the Evidence
22. Facebook for Family History
43. Overwhelmed …. Paralyzed? Time to get Organized!
59. Linking the Generations: Sharing Eternal Family Keepsakes
Roland Astorga
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 plus 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, FamilySearch, and documentation. She is married to Douglas G. Bateman and has 6 children and 9 grandchildren.
Presentation Titles:
1. How Do I Start My Family History?
30. Documentation Made Easy—It’s All About Sources!
Brooke Bedke
I am a junior at Weber High School. Some of my hobbies are playing the piano and horse back riding! I got started into family search because I wanted to take names to the temple and perform the ordinances there. I was then called to be a youth family history consultant in my ward, where I have learned so much from others and have really loved making connections with my ancestors. I hope that you can all find the same interest and love for it as I do!
Presentation Title:
14. YOUTH LDS Family History Consultants
Mike Booth
Michael T. Booth is vice-president of RootsMagic, Inc. He is an accomplished trainer, having given hands-on entertaining presentations to thousands of individuals. With over 35 years of computer programming experience, Michael's latest creations are "Personal Historian" and "Family Atlas". He is also a developer of the popular RootsMagic genealogy software. Michael lives in Ogden, Utah with his wife, Sandy and their six children.
Presentation Titles:
37. Personal Historian: Software to Bring Life to Your Life Stories
52. What’s New in RootsMagic 7
65. RootsMagic: FamilySearch Made Easy
Kathleen Buckmaster
Kathleen Buckmaster works at the Ogden FamilySearch Library, helping patrons one-on-one and teaching a popular FamilySearch Family Tree Basic class. She has worked extensively adding sources and correcting problems in her own family tree as well as that of her husband and a neighbor. She enjoys helping people see how mastering FamilySearch Family Tree can enrich their lives and extend their families.
Presentation Title:
26. LAB FamilySearch for Beginners
67. Repeat LAB FamilySearch for Beginners
McKenna Cooper
Emma Lu Draper
Emma Lu Draper is a wife, mother of seven, and grandmother.
She is an author and lecturer. She enjoys writing histories, life events, articles for "Real Life Answers", "Primary in Zion", and "thisandthat3165", which is her personal blog. She takes pleasure in playing the piano and belongs to a piano guild, also she enjoys her Zen garden. She has served for a number of years at the Ogden Family Search Library and serves as a Family History Consultant. She holds a degree in English and Communication, also a Master Degree in Education and has taught literature, writing skills, and drama classes as a Junior High School teacher in the Davis School District. She and her husband have served together on four missions.
Presentation Title:
32. How to Write Your Personal History
Linda Dursteler
Linda has an M.Ed. in curriculum development. She has spent most of her life researching her own family and helping others find theirs. She currently serves as a missionary at the Ogden FamilySearch Library. She and her husband Bruce reside in North Ogden.
Presentation Title:
13. LAB Descendancy Research in FamilySearch Family Tree
53. Repeat LAB Descendancy Research in FamilySearch Family Tree
Carolina Espinoza
Carolina nació en Santiago de Chile.
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. Carolina esta a cargo de la sociedad genealogica de los hispanos en Ogden Utah.
Presentation Title:
39. SPANISH Tus Búsquedas de Antepasados en Registros Históricos de FamilySearch
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.
Presentation Titles:
12. What’s New in Ancestral Quest
38. Ancestral Quest: Keeping Your AQ or PAF Data in Sync with FamilySearch
Holly T. Hansen
President, Family History Expos: A lifelong resident of Croydon, Utah, Holly is a family history educator with more than 15 years’ experience. Although she sponsors elaborate events, she also enjoys helping people one-on-one as they learn how to make technology work for them. Author, lecturer, and editor, Holly devotes time every day to education.
Presentation Titles:
45. Deductive Reasoning and Logic
61. Introduction to the NEW FamilySearch Catalog: Use it like a Pro!
Emil O. Hanson, Ph.D.
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 18 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.
Presentation Titles:
3. Writing Your Personal History
31. Research Using the Ogden FamilySearch Library’s Website--Ogdenfsl.org
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 seventeen 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.
Presentation Titles:
44. “I Didn’t Know That!”
Nicole Hepler
Presentation Title:
28. LDS Family History consultant & Priesthood Leadership Training
Janet Hovorka
Janet Hovorka owns Family ChartMasters, an award winning genealogy chart printing
service and official printing service for most genealogy software and database
companies. Janet has written the Zap The Grandma Gap books and workbooks and is an
international speaker. She is past president of UGA and teaches genealogy at SLCC.
Presentation Titles:
17. 6 Steps to Choreograph Your Research Across the Internet
33. Grandpa’s on my Ipad: Sharing Your Family History with your Family Using Social Networking
41. Family History Adhesive: The Science of Why History Binds Families and the Simple Tech of How to Do It
Matthew Hovorka
Matthew was only 4 years old when his parents started the company Family ChartMasters and enveloped his life in genealogy. He is now 15 and has developed extensive knowledge about his rich family history. He is working on correctly sourcing the history that has already been researched in his family.
Presentation Titles:
4. YOUTH Get to Know Your Geezers
Peg A. Ivanyo
Peg A Ivanyo serves as a ward family history consultant, member of the Board of
Directors of the Utah Genealogical Association (UGA), Director of the Salt Lake Institute of
Genealogy (SLIG), and Conference Administrator for the Foundation for East European
Family History Studies (FEEFHS). She served as an instructor and as a member of the
training committee at the Springville FHC for over five years. She is owner of All Things
Related, where she blends her love of genealogy with her career in the meeting planning
industry.
Presentation Titles:
29. Making a Case for Re-Proving Old Work
42. Getting Started on the Right Foot: Genealogy Standards for Beginners
58. Using Technology to See your Research More Clearly
Kelsee Jackson
Currently a senior at Brigham Young University majoring in Family History, Kelsee has completed family history internships in Austria and England, researching in archives and churches throughout both countries. Her areas of emphasis include experience in both German and British records.
Presentation Titles:
34. Getting Started with your German Family History
48. Identifying the German Hometown: Using Sources from Both Sides of the Ocean
62. Germans in American Church Records
Julie Judd
Julie Judd has been climbing her own family tree for over 20 years and teaching others for the past 5 years. She is currently studying history at USU to better understand her ancestors’ world. She resides in Utah with her husband, four children, cows, horses, pigs, chickens, and dog.
Presentation Title:
59. Linking the Generations: Sharing Eternal Family Keepsakes
Fritz Juengling PhD, AG®
Doctor Juengling did his Bachelor’s degrees in German studies and Secondary Education at Western Oregon University. He received his Master’s and Doctorate in Germanic Philology with minors in both English and Linguistics at the University of Minnesota. He is an Accredited Genealogist® in German research and is a German, Dutch, and Scandinavian Research Consultant at the Family History Library.
Presentation Title:
2. Tips for Genealogical Research
36. Danish Probate Records
Don Koldewyn
Don Koldewyn graduated from Weber High School, Weber State College and the University of Utah. After retiring fourteen 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. He also conducts the Netherlands Research Society meetings where those involved with Dutch Family History meet and help each other with research.
Presentation Title:
6. Netherlands Research on Line
Bradley Marchant
Bradley D. Marchant, AG is an accredited Swedish genealogist. Having spent over half of his life in the pursuit of genealogical research, he has a lot of expertise, excitement and enthusiasm. Currently an employee of Familysearch, he organizes and catalogs newly digitized family history records from around the world. He is known for his odd sense of humor and no-nonsense approach to research. When not spending his time in research, he is found renovating his house, chasing after his dog, or restoring antique furniture. He is also working on becoming a foster-adopt parent in the great state of Utah. Presentation Titles:
6A. How to Think Logically for Beginners and Intermediate Researchers: Work Smarter, not Harder!
46A. British Descendant Research Part A: 1837-1911
62A. British Descendant Research Part B: One-name studies and Pre-1837 Research
Kolten Nay
My name is Kolten Nay, and I live in Pleasant View. I am a junior at Weber High School, where I play football. I have been called to be a FamilyHistory Youth Consultant in my ward. I index, and have started to get into using FamilySearch to find names to take to the temple. There's always more to learn, but I think I know enough and can learn more to able to pass some knowledge on to others through this opportunity to serve.
Presentation Title:
14. YOUTH LDS Family History consultants
Mark Olsen
Working as the Business Development Manager for MyHeritage and as Stake High Councilor over Family History, Mark is engaged in the work of Family History from morning until night and the weekend as well. Mark and Sara are the parents of 7, have one grandbaby and one daughter serving a mission in San Jose, CA.
Presentation Title:
24. Making Magical Discoveries Using MyHeritage
Linda Poulter
Presentation Title:
40. LAB Indexing: Foreign Languages are Fun; Focus on Spanish
Geoff Rasmussen
Geoffrey D. Rasmussen is the father of four budding genealogists. He graduated with a degree in Genealogy and Family History from Brigham Young University and has served as director and vice-president of the Utah Genealogical Association. He is a dynamic genealogy speaker on all forms of genealogy technology, and as host of the Legacy Family Tree webinar series, has spoken virtually to nearly 100 different countries. He has authored books, videos, articles, and websites, and develops the Legacy Family Tree software program. On a personal note, Geoff enjoys playing the piano, organ, cello, basketball and bowling. His favorite places are cemeteries, the ocean, and hanging out with other genealogists. He met and proposed to his wife in a Family History Center.
He is the author of the recently-released, Kindred Voices: Listening for our Ancestors, and the popular books Legacy Family Tree, Unlocked! and Digital Imaging Essentials book.
Presentation Titles:
8. Genealogy Serendipity – Listening For Our Ancestors
21. Technology and Techniques for Differentiating Two People with the Same Name
51. Organizing, Researching and Sharing with Legacy Family Tree
66. Using Timelines to Locate our Ancestors
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 her return. They have 5 children and 7 grandchildren. Currently she is serving as Family History Consultant, and has recently been released as a church service missionary in Family Tree and Product Support. As a staff member at the Ogden FamilySearch Library, Edith teaches classes in FamilySearch Family Tree.
Presentation Titles:
56. Fixing Data in FamilySearch Family Tree
Marlo Schuldt
Marlo Schuldt is President of LifeStory Productions, Inc., an Orem, Utah based company that develops family history software and provides assistance to individuals desiring to gather, prepare, print, and share family history. With BS and MS degrees from Brigham Young University, he recently patented the Heritage Collector Software. He is the father of five and the grandfather of twelve including twin grandsons.
Presentation Titles:
11. Scanning for Better Results
23. Heritage Collector Software Demo
49. Creating Audio and Video Family History Stories: Creating/Recording, Enhancing, and Sharing
64. Ways to Use a Smart Phone in Family History
Gene A. Sessions Ph.D.
Gene A. Sessions is Brady Presidential Distinguished Professor of History at Weber State University in Ogden, Utah. A native of Ogden, he received his Ph.D. degree from Florida State University in 1974. He is the author and editor of numerous works, including Mormon Thunder: A Documentary History of Jedediah Morgan Grant (1982, 2008), Latter-day Patriots: Nine Mormon Families and Their Revolutionary War Heritage (1975), Prophesying upon the Bones: J. Reuben Clark and the Foreign Debt Crisis, 1933-39 (1992), Camp Floyd and the Mormons: The Utah War (with Donald R. Moorman, 1992, 2005), The Search for Harmony: Essays on Science and Mormonism (with Craig J. Oberg, 1993), Utah International: A Biography of a Business (with Sterling D. Sessions, 2002, 2005), and Mormon Democrat: The Religious and Political Memoirs of James Henry Moyle (1975, 1998), for which he received the Mormon History Association’s annual award for best edited work. He has also been a consultant on documentaries and committees exploring the Utah War and the Mountain Meadows Massacre and is past president of the Mountain Meadows Association. He and his wife Shantal have four children and seven grandsons.
Presentation Title:
18. Storytellers Rule the World
Annie Strawn
When Annie came to the U.S. 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. She serves on the staff of the Ogden FamilySearch Library and leads the Scandinavian research group at the library.
Presentation Title:
20. Danish Research on the Internet
Sue Story
Sue Story is a Professional Genealogist working out of Salt Lake City. She is currently working on two Accreditations: Norway and Midwestern States. She has a Bachelor of Arts in Art and Psychology and did her graduate work in Geographic Information Systems.
Presentation Titles:
5. Maps? What to do…: Get started with Google Earth!
16. Finding the Lost: Adoption records and resources
Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor has loved history and genealogy for many years. She received her Bachelors in Anthropology at the University of Utah and her Masters in Medieval Studies at the University of York. She has been an employee of Ancestry.com for four years and performed genealogical research for the hit TV show, "Who Do You Think You Are?" She is an Accredited Genealogist and currently works for ProGenealogists, a research company of professional genealogists. Jessica specializes in UK and Irish genealogy and enjoys helping people discover their past.
Presentation Titles:
19. Researching in Great Britain
35. I’m Irish, now what? –A Beginner’s Guide to Tracing your Immigrant Ancestor back to Ireland
Jonathan Walker
Jonathan Walker – Resides in Smithfield, Utah. He served a LDS mission in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, many years ago. Where he learned the Spanish language and learned to love the people of Mexico. Jonathan has over 20 years of genealogical research experience doing his own research and helping others do theirs. He is also the Family History Consultant in his local LDS Spanish Branch, in Smithfield. He has a great desire to help others find and be successful in finding their ancestors.
Jonathan Walker – Reside en Smithfield, Utah. Sirvió en una misión mormona en Hermosillo, Sonora, México, hace muchos años. En dónde aprendió el idioma español y aprendió a amar a la gente de México. Jonathan tiene más de 20 años de experiencia en la investigación genealógica haciendo su propia investigación y ayudar a otros a hacer las suyas. Él es también el consultor de historia familiar en su local de LDS rama española, en Smithfield. Él tiene un gran deseo de ayudar a otros a encontrar y tener éxito en la búsqueda de sus antepasados.
Presentation Titles:
25. SPANISH Investigación Genealógica Hispana
46. Latin American Research
Mitch Wasden
Mitch is a seasoned business executive who left the corporate world to pursue his desire to help people with their family history efforts. His career involved training medical professionals and delivering keynote speeches to inspire higher levels of leadership and productivity.
Presentation Titles:
9. We Can Do Hard Things: FamilySearch is Easier Than Ever!
Johnny Willis
Presentation Title:
60. Making Documents While Researching
Chad Winks
Presentation Title:
50. RootsBid.com