Summit of Excellence Track Highlight: Professional Topics

Are you interested in turning your love of genealogical research into a profession? Curious about becoming an accredited or certified genealogist? We've got the track for you! Come and learn essential skills to manage your social media, engage your audience, publish your research, and launch your new career. 

Track Presentations

The following sessions run on Friday, September 17th:

Accreditation: An Overview of the Benefits and Process with Jana K. Greenhalgh, AG: The Accredited Genealogist®️ credential is awarded by the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). This class will cover the various benefits available to Accredited Genealogists as well as an overview of the testing process.

Certification: My Journey to Earn the Certified Genealogist® Credential with Angela Packer McGhie, CG, FUGA: In this session, Angela will discuss her journey to prepare a portfolio to submit to the Board for Certification of Genealogists. She will share personal advice on working to meet genealogy standards and tips for each portfolio element.

Career Paths for the Genealogist with Kelly R. Summers, AG: You want to develop a career as a genealogist? Genealogists are some of the most brilliant and creative people. They are skilled at problem solving and analysis. These skills combined with natural talents and interests can be the basis for a career in genealogy. In this class, we will introduce some of the many ways that a genealogist can bring their love of genealogy into a career.

A Genealogist's Guide to Social Media & Email Marketing with Anne Merrell: Learn how to connect with and grow your potential customer base through tested social media and email marketing techniques. 

Writing and Publishing with Tristan L. Tolman, AG: Learn tips for writing and publishing a family history, personal history, business history, or autobiography for yourself, your family, or a client. 

Public Speaking: Engaging with Your Audience at Home and In-person with D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS: Connecting with your audience as a professional speaker is essential. This session focuses on delivery, visuals, and other elements when making virtual and in-person presentations.

The full schedule of all presentations and links to presenter biographies may be found here. 

Join Us in September!

The 2021 UGA Summit of Excellence celebrates UGA's 50th year. This exciting virtual conference, held September 15-18, 2021, is a four-day event with multiple tracks offering a premier educational opportunity at an extremely reasonable price. Each track features a different record set or research area such as legal records, methodology, technology, or DNA. 

Learn more about the Summit of Excellence or register to attend. Questions may be directed to the registrar: registrar@ugagenealogy.org.

Celebrate UGA's 50th Anniversary at the Summit of Excellence

The Summit of Excellence, UGA's annual virtual conference, will look different this year, and for good reason. In September 2021, the Utah Genealogical Association is set to turn 50 and this year's conference is aimed at celebrating all those years of providing premier genealogical education. As we engage in this event, participants should look forward to a number of new and exciting event features.

Getting Started Day

UGA will host a free single-track day on September 15. The opening day, called our "Getting Started Day" will feature a full day of renowned speakers addressing topics for the introductory genealogist. Topics will include gathering family information, introductions to record types, beginning research methods, locality surveys, and tools for online research.

Multiple Tracks and Distinguished Speakers

Attendees to the 2021 Summit will enjoy a full conference experience of 57 presentations on a wide range of topics given over the four-day event from September 15-18, 2021. Featured tracks each day will help participants find topics of interest to them.

Thursday, September 16th - Methodology, General Records, and Focus Areas (Irish, Scottish, British, Italian)

Friday, September 17th - DNA, Legal Records, Professional Topics, and Focus Areas (Eastern European, Jewish, German, Nordic)

Saturday, September 18th - Technology, Military Records, and Focus Areas (Canadian, Native American, African American, and Hispanic)

Presenters at the conference will be some of genealogy's best speakers, including; Crista Cowan, Angela Packer McGhie, Rev. David McDonald, Judy G. Russell, Richard G. Sayre, LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, Rebecca Koford, Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, Kelvin L. Meyers, Gena Philibert-Ortega, Paul Woodbury, and many more. To see the full conference schedule please click here.

Recordings

One of the great advantages of hosting a virtual conference is the ability to still attend sessions you miss, all thanks to the digital recordings. Attendees will have access to session recordings until December 31, 2021 to continue to learn and watch as frequently as desired. 

Keynote and Commemorative Event

The conference also features an engaging keynote about the past and future of genealogy, "Looking Back in the Future," given by D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, former board member and historian of the Utah Genealogical Association and current president of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society.

The final event of the conference will commemorate 50 years of the Utah Genealogical Association, with opportunities to celebrate our shared memories, experiences, and paths in garnering premier genealogical education.

Summit of Excellence 2021 Theme and Keynote

 

We are excited to announce the theme and keynote speaker for UGA's Summit of Excellence 2021.

Summit of Excellence 2021 Theme

The Utah Genealogical Association’s motto is “Premier Genealogical Education.” It is at the heart of who we are and what we do. We strive to bring excellent education through a myriad of programs from monthly webinars to Crossroads magazine and local chapters to the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. As we approach our 50th anniversary of charter as an association by the state of Utah, we are pleased to celebrate and continue that legacy of high quality education at the 2021 UGA Summit of Excellence, our 3rd annual virtual conference.

The theme, “Commemorating 50 Years of Premier Genealogical Education,” will guide our experience this year as we expand the Summit of Excellence into a unique and powerful educational experience. The conference for 2021 will run from September 15th to the 18th and feature over 50 speakers in multiple tracks and sessions. The conference will also feature a full free “Getting Started Day” on September 15th.

We are proud of the legacy of UGA’s educational programs and efforts and look forward to celebrating that with you again this year. Registration for the conference will open April 24, 2021 at 10:00 am MST at registration.ugagenealogy.org.

 

Summit of Excellence 2021 Keynote Speaker

In celebration of the Summit of Excellence theme and UGA’s history, this year's keynote address will be “Looking Back in the Future” with D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS. We are excited to invite Joshua to speak on such a wonderful topic and to highlight his previous history as a former member of the Board of Directors for UGA and as one of UGA’s past historians.

D. Joshua Taylor, MA, MLS, is a nationally known and recognized genealogist. Passionate about the diverse and dynamic field of family history, Joshua is the President of the New York Genealogical & Biographical Society (NYG&B), an organization dedicated to preserving the stories of all New Yorkers. Previously, Joshua volunteered in leadership positions for the Federation of Genealogical Societies and other organizations. In 2017, Joshua was named as one of Library Journal’s Movers and Shakers. A popular author and speaker, Joshua has been a coordinator for courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP) and is the recipient of RootsTech’s Distinguished Presenter Award.

He holds an MLS (Archival Management) and an MA (History) from Simmons College, he has been a featured genealogist on Who Do You Think You Are? and he can be seen taking America through their past as a host on the popular PBS series, Genealogy Roadshow. Joshua resides in New York City.

UGA Summit of Excellence Theme: "Paths of Discovery"

Theme's of a genealogy conference set the tone, the focus, and the atmosphere of the entire experience at the event. They bring a meaning beyond sitting through a bunch of lectures to a more elevated and special experience.

The Conference Committee of the Utah Genealogical Association is excited to announce the theme of the 2020 UGA Summit of Excellence: "Paths of Discovery". Presentations this year will highlight the figurative and literal journeys your ancestors took and highlight the tools that will help you on your path to discover that story. From DNA to women's suffrage, street names to manuscripts, and migration to case studies this year's conference showcases an amazing lineup of 9 speakers over 2 days!

For more information about the 2020 UGA Summit of Excellence visit conference.ugagenealogy.org and to register, visit registration.ugagenealogy.org.

Summit Highlight: "Women’s Suffrage: Their Rights, Roles, and Limitations" by Michael Strauss

The women's suffrage movement was a long and hard won battle to win the right to vote by women in the United States. The hard won effort took activists and reformers decades to achieve and the struggle nearly disbanded the movement more than once. Despite the difficulty on August 18, 1920, the 19th Amendment was ratified, empowering all American women to vote and declaring for the first time that they, like men, deserve all the rights and responsibilities of American citizenship.

To honor that struggle, the UGA Summit of Excellence will feature a keynote celebrating this movement and moment in history. "Women's Suffrage: Their Rights, Roles, and Limitations" will be presented on Saturday, September 12th at 9:00 am MDT by Michael Strauss, AG.

We are honored to invite Michael to speak on this subject and to celebrate this moment in history. The lecture focuses on the history of women and the Suffrage Movement from the colonial time to the middle of the twentieth century. Numerous genealogical records are examined in this lecture from the Anti-Slavery movement, to the Temperance Movement, military service, and later as woman gained the right to vote.

Michael L. Strauss, AG, is a professional Accredited Genealogist and a nationally recognized genealogical speaker. A native on Pennsylvania and a resident of Utah, he has been employed as a Forensic Genealogist for more than 25 years. Strauss has a BA in History and is a United States Coast Guard veteran. He is also a qualifies witness in court in New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. Strauss is an approved genealogist with the United States Army to locate DNA qualifies persons MIA from Korea, Vietnam, and World War II. Michael was the film historian for the 2014 film "Finding Vivian Maier" which was nominated for an Oscar for Documentaries in 2015. He has been involved in Civil War reenacting for more than 25 years, serving in two units, namely; the 99th New York Infantry and Battery A., 5th U.S. Artillery and most recently the Utah Living History Association.

The UGA Summit of Excellence is a virtual event that will be held September 11-12, 2020. To register or lean more please visit conference.UGAgenealogy.org.