Welcome to the Washington DC Family History Center
4th Annual Conference

Presenter Bios

Coldren-Walker, Julia Ms. Coldren-Walker began personal research 1967 although with only sporadic activity until 1987 when it became a passion. She began internet genealogy in 1990 with Compuserve Genealogy Forum. She has served as Registrar Toaping Castle Chapter NSDAR 1993 2000, 20022206 and 20082010. She began genealogical lecturing in 1999 as part of the Prince George's Genealogy Society Library series. She has lectured at the Baltimore Stake FHC every year since 2001 and at the Kensington FHC since 2006. Julia is a graduate of the National Institute for Genealogical Research at NARA as well as attending NGS Conference in 1990, 19931997, 19992000, 2003 & 2007. She is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and the Association of Professional Genealogist. She has a B.A. in History and in Government & as M.A. in International Relations.

Hait, Michael Michael Hait is a professional genealogist specializing in Maryland research, African-American genealogy, and the Civil War and Reconstruction periods. He is the author of the "African-American Genealogy Examiner" column at Examiner.com, Coordinator of the Resource Library at Lowcountry Africana (lowcountryafricana.net), and the instructor for a course on African-American Genealogy, originally offered through the now defunct GenClass.com, but now offered through the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (genealogicalstudies.com). He is also the administrator for the Genealogy Trails websites for Prince George's, Charles, and St. Mary's counties, Maryland (genealogytrails.com).

Hastings, James James J. Hastings is a member of the Senior Executive Service and is the Director of Access Programs at the National Archives of the United States. He began his career at the National Archives in 1972 as an Archives Technician in the Records Declassification Division. Since then he has held archival staff and management positions in several offices. His previous management positions include Director, Nixon Presidential Materials Project, 1979-88; Director, Records Appraisal and Disposition Division, 1991-95; Director, Non-textual Archives Division, 1996-98; and Director, Textual Archives Services Division, 1998-2004. He was appointed Director, Access Programs in 2004. Access Programs has responsibility for all description, reference, and access review activities pertaining to the textual and non-textual records in the National Archives buildings in Washington D.C. and College Park, Maryland. In addition to managing Access Programs, James has the lead in negotiating and implementing partnerships to digitize the records in the National Archives in the Washington area. He is a member of the Society of American Archivists and teaches archives management and administration at the Modern Archives Institute in Washington, DC. He has A.B. and M.A. degrees in American History from Xavier University, Cincinnati, Ohio.

Koford, Rebecca Ms. Koford lives with her husband and three wonderful children in Burtonsville, Maryland. Rebecca has been interested in genealogy ever since she could read, but has been pursuing it since 1989. Rebecca has been working professionally, lecturing locally, and taking clients in US Genealogical research for the last 7 years. Rebecca is currently teaching genealogy classes for the Howard County Community College at the Laurel College Center. She is a former assistant director of the Columbia Family History Center, and still substitutes there regularly. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Daughters of the American Revolution, and the Washington DC Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

Laver, Kenisha Kenisha Laver was born and raised in the Caribbean and has been developing an interesting, yet somewhat unique approach in connecting with her ancestors through research into their lives. She is delighted to share her experience and techniques with the hopes that she can assist others in their genealogical journeys.

McGhie, Angela Angela McGhie is a professional researcher and genealogical speaker. She is the Administrator of the ProGen Study Program for aspiring professional genealogists, and the President of the local chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Angela enjoys teaching genealogy courses at Howard Community College and serving as the Assistant Director of the Columbia Maryland Family History Center.

Minor, Lorraine Dutcher Ms. Minor is president of the Genealogy Club of the Montgomery County Historical Society and has served as chair of the Education Committee. Ms. Minor has completed the National Genealogical Society home study course and several Family History courses from Brigham Young University and attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research. She is a volunteer at the Washington DC Family History Center in Kensington, MD and teaches classes and speaks locally on basic genealogical subjects. She is currently doing research on her ancestors from Maine, New York, Michigan, Wisconsin and Ohio and helping her husband with research in Tennessee and Kentucky.

Mortensen, Ken Mr. Mortensen began his genealogy experience innocently copying pedigree charts from his grandparents when in his teens. Later when his own family was small he copied the sheets into Personal Ancestral File and shared it with family members. He has benefitted from two sets of grandparents that were active in collecting genealogy and both left the family with large "Books of Remembrance." Ken volunteers at the Kensington family history center. He has over 20 years experience as a computer system analyst working for Cray Research and Silicon Graphics and has supported several large supercomputing centers. He has a Bachelor�s degree from Brigham Young University in Computer Science and a Master�s of Information Science from the University of Pittsburgh.

Mortensen, Sue Sue Mortensen studied history and genealogy at Brigham Young University and graduated with a B.A. in History from Western Connecticut State University. She has worked as a litigation paralegal for the past 15 years. Sue is currently working on becoming an accredited genealogist in the Mid-South Region and writing the biography of her great grandfather, William James Hinchey, a famous Irish-American artist.

Sadauskas, Tom Tom Sadauskas has been doing genealogical research since 2000 when he started researching his Lithuanian ancestry. In 2008, he was part of the first group of genealogists to go to the International Tracing Service (ITS) archives in Germany after they were opened to researchers. He is a July 2009 graduate of the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR). Mr. Sadauskas has a BS degree in accounting from the University of Connecticut, an MBA from the University of Chicago, and a CPA certificate from the state of Illinois.

Shawker, Patricia O'Brien Patricia O�Brien Shawker, CG is a professional genealogist, certified since 1999, whose interests are Maryland genealogy and research at the National Archives. She has a B.S. in accounting from the University of Maryland. She is the Director of the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) and is on the board of the Maryland Genealogical Society. She served as treasurer of the National Genealogical Society for four years (2002-2006). She has lectured at many of the National Genealogical Society�s conferences, as well as for state and county genealogical societies throughout the country.

Shawker, Thomas Dr. Thomas Shawker is a physician at the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and has over 200 scientific publications. For his interest in genealogy, Dr. Shawker has attended the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR) and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research at Samford University. He has published articles on genetics, DNA testing, family health history, and medical history in the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Newsmagazine, the NGS Quarterly and in New England Ancestors, a publication of NEHGS. He has spoken at numerous genealogy conferences including the annual meetings of the National Genealogical Society as well as at the National Institute on Genealogical Research (NIGR), the New England Historic Genealogical Society, the Professional Management Conference for the APG in Boston, the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, the National Archives and Record Administration (NARA), the Smithsonian Institute, and for the Genealogical Societies of Pennsylvania, Maryland, Delaware, South Carolina, Florida, and Georgia. Dr. Shawker is a Past President of the Prince George�s County Genealogical Society (Maryland) and currently serves as the Chairman of the National Genealogical Society Family Health and Heredity Committee. He is the author of the book Unlocking your Genetic History: A Step-by-step Guide to Discovering your Family�s Medical and Genetic Heritage in the National Genealogical Society book series.

Sokolowsky, Mary Jean Mary Jean Sokolowsky's love of genealogy began as a child working with her father. She has been actively working on her own family history for 12 years. She is the mother of 3 children, a pediatric nurse, and has taught children in Sunday School and private music lessons for several years.

Williams, Margo Margo Williams is Vice President of the American Heritage and Education Association, Inc. (AIHEA), located in Gaithersburg, Maryland. She is of Cherokee/Seminole/Saponi and African and European American background. She holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Sociology, and a Master's degree in Religious Education. She has been engaged in genealogical and historical research for over 30 years and is a consultant at the Kensington Family History Center. Under her own company, Personal Prologue, she has provided genealogical research and consultation to tribal groups and individuals representing many different tribal origins and she has lectured on Native American genealogical research at numerous workshops and other occasions.