Genealogy Pro Talk Upcoming Webinars

Title	Presenter	Date
Craft Your Genealogy Education Plan: Find Your Perfect Learning Path	Allyson Maughan and Eva Holmes	May 5, 2026 6:00 pm
From SEO to Storytelling: AI Prompts That Every Professional Genealogist Should Know	Natalie Webb	June 2, 2026 6:00 pm
AI for the Professional Genealogist	Robert Weir	July 7, 2026 6:00 pm
From Heirlooms to Histories: The Genealogist’s Role in Legacy Planning	Lori Samuelson	August 4, 2026 6:00 pm
How to Improve Your Presentations with Storytelling Tips and Techniques	Karen Fortin	September 1, 2026 6:00 pm
An Overview of Genealogical Bioinformatics: How it started… How it’s going	Arun Konanur	October 6, 2026 6:00 pm
Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities Tackling the Biggest Time Wasters in Genealogy	Cynthia Patton	November 3, 2026 6:00 pm
Smarter Not Harder: Creating Systems for Your Genealogy Business	Laura Cubbage-Draper	December 1, 2026 6:00 pm

Craft Your Genealogy Education Plan: Find Your Perfect Learning Path

Presented By: Allyson Maughan and Eva Holmes on May 5, 2026 6:00 pm

Are you trying to decide between a class, conference, or self-paced study to grow your genealogy skills? It is time to become the genealogist you aspire to be. This session will guide you to becoming a successful genealogist by finding the ideal learning path for you. We will explore critical questions to ensure you have the best fit for your unique learning goals. We will assess the power of networking, discussing how to connect with others through Facebook groups, student circles, and study groups. Understanding how your personality and lifestyle affect your learning choices is key. From books and videos to formal institutes, this session will empower you to craft a personalized, practical education plan that matches your goals, budget, and schedule. You will gain the tools to craft your own personalized genealogy education plan that aligns with your future in genealogy. Perfect for genealogists at any level, from beginner to advanced, looking for new ways to learn effectively.

Allyson is an Accredited Genealogist and a professional speaker, writer, and consultant. She specializes in photographic record sets, genealogical methodology, and family history writing. She speaks for groups ranging from international to local including Salt Lake Institute for Genealogy and RootsTech. Her writing has been featured in Crossroads Magazine where she shares her ancestors’ lives in the West. A member of the Utah Genealogical Association board, she helps with the magazine and ProTalk webinar content. Find her work and resources on her website rememberingrelatives.weebly.com. Before her genealogy career, she taught high school foreign languages and history. When not doing genealogy, she enjoys spending time with her husband and daughters. Eva Holmes, CG®, AG®, is a life-long resident of Portland, Maine with New England roots going back 12+ generations. She combines a background in information technology and project management with genealogy skills to help people locate and share information about their ancestors. Eva has been published in several periodicals, including the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Crossroads, and the Minnesota Genealogist. Eva is also the author of the Research in the States Guide to Maine published by the National Genealogical Society in 2024, the first published guide to researching Maine genealogy. She is the editor of the Utah Genealogical Association’s quarterly, Crossroads.

From SEO to Storytelling: AI Prompts That Every Professional Genealogist Should Know

Presented By: Natalie Webb on June 2, 2026 6:00 pm

Running a genealogy business requires more than excellent research skills. Professional genealogists are also content creators, website designers, marketing experts and report writers, to name a few examples. This webinar shows professional genealogists how to use AI as a practical business partner. Learn how well-crafted prompts can generate SEO-friendly website copy, develop branding ideas, and draft newsletters & social media posts. We’ll also explore how AI can streamline report writing, create citations, and repurpose research into client-ready narratives and images. Attendees will leave with actionable strategies for saving time, boosting visibility, and strengthening their professional brand.

Natalie Webb isn’t your average genealogist. With a 25-year career as a project manager, technical trainer, and all-around computer wizard, she’s got the skills to tackle even the trickiest of technical problems. But she noticed that while genealogy is all about connecting the dots, many fellow researchers were struggling with the digital tools and online resources that are essential today. That’s when Family Tree Technology was born. We're all about making genealogy tools fun, accessible, and a little less daunting. Whether you’re just starting your family tree or you’re deep into the branches, Natalie’s here to guide you through the tech world with a smile and a few mouse clicks.

AI for the Professional Genealogist

Presented By: Robert Weir on July 7, 2026 6:00 pm

Professional genealogy involves more than research. It is also a business. From handling taxes and client contracts to editing reports, marketing services, and responding to calls for presentations, genealogists face a wide range of administrative tasks that consume valuable time. AI tools can lighten this load. In this webinar, we will explore practical, real-world applications of AI for professional genealogists, from classifying expenses for Schedule C deductions, to reviewing contracts, to tailoring proposals to fit conference submission requirements. We will also discuss privacy and other concerns. Attendees will leave with specific ideas for using AI effectively, freeing time for the more satisfying research tasks.

Robert Cameron Weir is a genealogical researcher, educator, and author who lives in Dover, New Hampshire. He specializes in hard problems related to New England genealogy, from 1620 to the present. He is a member of the Association for Professional Genealogy and is Vice President and Publications Director for the New Hampshire Society of Genealogists.

From Heirlooms to Histories: The Genealogist’s Role in Legacy Planning

Presented By: Lori Samuelson on August 4, 2026 6:00 pm

Genealogists spend their careers uncovering the past, but what about protecting the present for the future? With baby boomers downsizing and families facing the question of what to do with records, heirlooms, and decades of research, genealogists are uniquely positioned to guide clients through “legacy planning.” This session explores how professionals can add this service to their practice without venturing into financial or legal territory. Learn how to help clients identify what is worth preserving, organize family papers and digital files, prepare research for archival donation or inheritance, and craft meaningful narratives that endure. Attendees will gain practical strategies for packaging legacy planning as a service, from heirloom inventories to final family history books. By becoming trusted partners in preservation, genealogists ensure that the stories, artifacts, and research entrusted to them will outlast a single lifetime.

Lori Samuelson is a professional genealogist, author, and lecturer specializing in Midwest research and sensitive genealogical finds. She publishes the weekly blog “Genealogy At Heart” and presents nationally and internationally, blending oral history and overlooked sources with traditional research to produce client-ready narratives.

How to Improve Your Presentations with Storytelling Tips and Techniques

Presented By: Karen Fortin on September 1, 2026 6:00 pm

Improve your presentation skills with storytelling techniques such as effective use of your voice, gestures, and methods to capture and keep your audience’s attention. Humans are hardwired to respond to storytelling. Incorporating elements that tap into this mode of communication can help presenters resonate with their audiences in a more positive way, ensuring that audiences will be more likely to remember both the material being presented and the presenters themselves.

Karen A. Fortin has degrees in history and library and information science and a passion for research. She worked in a public library in Florida for 30 years before switching to providing genealogical and historical presentations in 2016. She is a member of various genealogical societies and loves to help people explore their family history so that they can better understand their ancestors and the world in which they lived.

An Overview of Genealogical Bioinformatics: How it started… How it’s going

Presented By: Arun Konanur on October 6, 2026 6:00 pm

Genealogical Bioinformatics is how future challenges in genetic genealogy will be addressed through Artificial Intelligence. Learn about this emerging field of inquiry, how its methods have already begun to address long-standing problems in genetic genealogy, and where we go from here.

Arun Konanur is a professional genealogist based in London, Ontario, Canada. An avid genealogist since 2005, for the past 5 years his research has focused on Genealogical Bioinformatics. To date he has developed and filed patents for four genealogically oriented bioinformatic processes.

Lost Hours, Lost Opportunities Tackling the Biggest Time Wasters in Genealogy

Presented By: Cynthia Patton on November 3, 2026 6:00 pm

Have you ever had a client deadline but keep losing hours on outside distractions, chasing a rabbit hole, or failing to reign in your expectations for the “perfect” research report. In this session we will look at the top 10-time wasters genealogist face and some practical ways to reclaim the lost hours and focus on more profitability. Time management is a challenge for all of us, especially when you throw our family and social obligations in the mix. Finally, how can we find the time to enjoy our own research projects? The solutions we will discuss are easily attainable including: time blocking, using templates, and becoming more “time aware”.

Cynthia Keefer Patton is a professional genealogist from Kansas City, Missouri, a member of the Heartland Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and Registrar for the White Alloe Chapter, DAR. She is a BU Certification Program graduate. Cynthia retired from the US Army and holds degrees in both Journalism and Political Science. She has resented for numerous historical, genealogical, and civic organizations.

Smarter Not Harder: Creating Systems for Your Genealogy Business

Presented By: Laura Cubbage-Draper on December 1, 2026 6:00 pm

Is your genealogy business draining your energy? Do you feel bad about the state of the administrative side of your business? Are you working nights or weekends when you don’t want to? These are signs that you may not be working sustainably. This webinar will discuss ways to identify areas which would benefit from stronger systems, the challenges of business ownership, and practical tips for creating systems for your time, tasks and information.

Laura Cubbage-Draper, CG®, is a genealogical researcher, lecturer, and the owner of LCD Genealogy Services. A New Jersey native with deep Pennsylvania roots, she holds a certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, is a graduate of ProGen 40, and has completed many institute courses. Laura has spoken at APG events, and at local and regional societies and libraries, where she enjoys teaching about genealogical methodology and resources.