Upcoming Online Events
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Some Current Lectures
I am available for virtual and in-person events. Contact me for availability and honorarium. Some of my talks are listed below.
BanyanDNA: A New Tool for Genetic Genealogy and Complex Pedigrees
BanyanDNA is like no other tool for genetic genealogy. Not only can it help you identify an unknown parent, grandparent, or great grandparent, it can alert you to places in your tree where shared DNA does not support the documented relationships. It also has elegant features to help you visualize relationships. Best of all, it is completely customized to your family, whether you have pedigree collapse, double cousins, or (in a future release) endogamy.
Working With WATO & WATO+ (What Are the Odds?)
“What Are the Odds?” (WATO) is a revolutionary tool at DNApainter.com that helps you figure out where someone with an unknown parent fits into the family tree of their DNA matches. You can compare different options, called “hypotheses” to see which rank the highest. The results allow you to better focus your research efforts and testing dollars. Better yet, it works using only shared cM amounts, so there is no need for a chromosome browser, and you can use matches from any testing company. This talk will provide a general overview of the tool, how to use it, and how to interpret the results.
When Your Tree Is a Thicket: Untangling Endogamy
Endogamy, the practice of marrying within a relatively small group, is common and one of the greatest challenges to working with autosomal DNA matches to enhance your family tree. This talk will help you understand what endogamy is, why it complicates DNA analyses, how to gauge it, and some strategies to work most effectively with your DNA results.
From Madness to Method: Making Sense of Your DNA Results
DNA is a powerful tool to solve family mysteries, but getting started can be daunting. Which testing company is best? Which kind of DNA? What about third-party tools? What subscriptions do you need? This talk presents an overarching strategy for addressing different types of brick wall questions using DNA and traditional genealogical evidence.
SOLVED! Case Studies in Genetic Genealogy
DNA is daunting! We know that it can be used to break through brick walls, but we may not always understand how to put that knowledge into practice. Join us to work through real-life case studies where DNA provided answers that couldn’t be found any other way. We’ll address strategies for solving brick walls, whether it’s an unknown parent, grandparent, or great grandparent.
No One Told Me There Would Be Math! DNA by the Numbers
Traditional genealogy is about records, family stories, and history; genetic genealogy, on the other hand, is about math. But don’t be afraid! This lecture will take a kinder, gentler approach to the math behind ethnicity estimates, DNA matches, the What Are the Odds and BanyanDNA tools, and Time Trees. The goal is not to make you do the math but to help you understand what the math is doing so you can interpret your results with confidence.