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First Time Attendee Scholarship Attendee Winner!
The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy Congratulates Dr. Tamiquia T. Simon, the 2026 SLIG First Time Attendee Scholarship Recipient!
Dr. Tamiquia T. Simon is a lifelong genealogist, educator, and founder of Roots of Return Genealogy, where she specializes in diasporic African ancestry research with a particular focus on breaking past the 1870 wall. Her passion for family history was nurtured by her mother and shaped by growing up in a multigenerational household that included her great-grandmother and maternal grandparents. Raised in an environment where stories, memory, and lineage were deeply valued, she developed an early commitment to preserving and reconstructing family histories impacted by displacement, enslavement, and historical erasure.
A former classroom educator with 15 years of experience, Dr. Simon holds a Ph.D. in Educational Leadership and Change with an emphasis in grounded theory from Fielding Graduate University, as well as degrees in Elementary Education and Education Management. Through her research and teaching, she has developed the Roots of Return Methodology, a research framework that integrates historical records, community reconstruction, land and probate analysis, and evidence-centered methods to help families reconnect with their ancestral narratives. Her work is especially centered on African American genealogy in the post-emancipation South and the recovery of stories often lost or silenced across generations.
Dr. Simon is also the author of a genealogy research handbook designed to help researchers navigate complex family history research using practical strategies and historical analysis. She currently resides in South Carolina and is the mother of two adult children and grandmother of one granddaughter, whose presence continues to inspire her commitment to legacy, remembrance, and intergenerational storytelling.
About the schloarship:
Any past institute participant will testify to the in-depth educational benefits offered by an institute. Many consider an institute to be the foundation of their ongoing genealogical education program. But not everyone has had the ability to take advantage of this unique type of educational opportunity—whether due to limited funds, work restrictions, preparation, or just not knowing that institutes exist.
The Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) inaugurated this scholarship in 2016 to help first-time attendees defray the costs of attending their first institute.