Presented by Paul K. Graham, AG, CG, CGL
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It’s the first element of the Genealogical Proof Standard, and it’s central to determining whether we’ve established proof of our research claims. But what does “reasonably exhaustive research” mean in the context of client work? How do we meet the standard given professional constraints? We’ll dig into these questions and learn strategies to give us a better chance of meeting the standard within financial and time limitations.

Paul K. Graham, AG, CG, CGL, is a Senior Genealogist at AncestryProGenealogists, where he conducts research for clients and for the television show Who Do You Think You Are?. He specializes in genealogical problem solving across the English-speaking world. Paul is BCG-certified and an ICAPGen Accredited Genealogist professional, and he holds a master’s degree in public history and a professional certificate in geographic information systems. Starting in January, he will begin coordinating the Advanced Genealogical Methods course at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy.

Paul has authored or co-authored numerous books and articles, including Georgia Courthouse Disasters and Georgia Land Lottery Research. His publications have earned him the National Genealogical Society (NGS) Award for Excellence and the American Society of Genealogists (ASG) Scholar Award, and he is a winner of the NGS Family History Writing Contest. Paul grew up in North Carolina and Georgia and currently resides in Logan, Utah.

The syllabus will be available to attendees and UGA Members the day of the presentation.

Presented by Sharon DeBartolo Carmack, MFA, CG
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Certified Genealogist® Sharon DeBartolo Carmack holds a Master of Fine Arts degree in Creative Nonfiction Writing. She is a partner in the Salt Lake City-based research, writing, editing, and publishing firm of Warren, Carmack & Associates, the owner of NonfictionHelp.com, and the executive editor of Scattered Leaves Press.

Sharon is one of only thirty current associates of the Board for Certification of Genealogists® who has been certified for more than twenty-five years. She is on the adjunct faculty of Salt Lake Community College and teaches Writing Life Stories, Genealogy and Family History Writing, Tracing Immigrant Origins, and Preparing for Certified Genealogist I and II.

She is the author of twenty books and hundreds of articles, essays, columns, and reviews that have appeared in nearly every major genealogical journal and publication. Some of her books include Tell It Short: A Guide to Writing Your Family History in Brief, You Can Write Your Family History, Carmack’s Guide to Copyright & Contracts, and the forthcoming Inheriting the Gordon Hips, a collection of humorous family history essays.

Her work has also appeared in many writing and literary publications: Creative Nonfiction, Brevity, Hippocampus Magazine (where her essay, “Switched at Midlife” won “Most Memorable” and was one of ten essays selected for the Best of Hippocampus, May 2013), Portland Review, Steinbeck Review, Writer’s Digest, Personal Journaling, and Phoebe: A Journal of Literature and Art (where her essay received Honorable Mention in the annual Creative Nonfiction Contest). Sharon’s essays have been finalists in contests for the Bellingham Review’s Annie Dillard Award for Creative Nonfiction and in Creative Nonfiction’s True Crime contest.

Along with a BA (summa cum laude) in English from Regis University, Sharon holds a Diploma in Irish Studies from the National University of Ireland, Galway, and she earned her MFA (with Distinction) in Creative Nonfiction Writing from National University. She can be contacted through WarrenCarmack.com or NonfictionHelp.com.

Presented by Suzannah Beasley, AG
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Focused and deliberate genealogy research takes your research to a new level. Instead of wandering aimlessly through the genealogy records, going straight to the most pertinent records will give you better results. This class will focus on client research, but this can be applied to your personal research as well.

Suzannah received a degree in Family History – Genealogy from Brigham Young University and she is an accredited genealogist through the International Commission of Professional Genealogists. She started by working for the New England Historic Genealogical Society in Boston before starting my own company, Global Genealogists.

Being a professional genealogist has given Suzannah the opportunity to research families all over the world. She has completed research cases for hundreds of clients with research on all the populated continents. She also had the wonderful opportunity to be one of the professional genealogists researching for the television show Relative Race that airs on BYUtv. Suzannah loves teaching about genealogy, and previously guest lectured on genealogy at Harvard Law School. She is currently an online instructor of family history courses through BYU-Idaho.

Presented by Diana Elder, AG and Julie Stoddard, AG
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The webinar will open with a discussion of how earning a credential benefits the professional genealogist, along with a brief overview of the education and experience a successful candidate for Accreditation will possess. Then the webinar will focus on improving your research and report writing skills, such as research planning and logs, creating a research reference guide, and writing professional client reports.

Diana Elder AG® is a professional genealogist and author. She is accredited in the Gulf South region of the United States and is the Presentation Specialist for The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). Diana is the author of the bestselling book, Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and creator of the “Research Like a Pro” study group and e-Course. Diana and her daughter, Nicole Dyer, are the hosts of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast and share research tips at their Family Locket website.

Julie Stoddard, AG® is accredited in the United States Mid-South region and she has been researching for over 15 years. She received a BA in Family History-Genealogy from BYU and is currently pursuing a master's degree in Genealogy from the University of Strathclyde, with a thesis on autosomal DNA. Julie serves on the Presentations Committee for the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen).