SLIG Academy for Professionals 2023: Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy

Last chance to learn the fundamentals of forensic genealogy from Catherine Desmarais and team! Instructor Michael Ramage, JD, CG, is retiring from teaching at the end of 2023, and the team has decided to retire the course as well.

Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy, coordinated by Catherine B. W. Desmarais, CG, is for aspiring and practicing genealogists who want to work with forensic genealogy clients. It will help you learn the fundamental skills needed to establish or strengthen your own forensic practice. Classes each week will explore business practices, work products, skill development, and the types of work in which forensic genealogists engage.

Faculty includes:

• Angie Bush, MS
• Kelvin L. Meyers
• CeCe Moore
• Michael S. Ramage, JD, CG

Watch this interview with course coordinator Catherine Desmarais:

This online course is intended for those with strong genealogical methodology skills who are interested in learning more about the field of forensic genealogy as a career. You will find it helpful to be familiar with The Board of Certification of Genealogists, Genealogy Standards, 2nd edition revised (Nashville: Ancestry.com, 2021) and Elizabeth Shown Mills, editor, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore: Genealogical Publishing Company, 2018).

Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy is scheduled to meet online February 16 through April 20, 2023, on Thursdays from 10:00 am until 2:00 pm Mountain Time.

See the SLIG Academy for Professionals 2023 Courses web page for more information, including updates.

SLIG Academy for Professionals 2023 registration opens Saturday, July 16, at 2:00 pm MDT.

Course Spotlight: Beyond Fundamentals: Hands-On Forensic Genealogy

Have a fundamental understanding of forensic genealogy? Do you want to expand your skills in a practical and hands-on way? Did you take a previous forensic institute course and want to learn more? Join us for Beyond Fundamentals: Hands-On Forensic Genealogy at the SLIG Academy for Professionals in 2022. This course is offered in weekly sessions at two different times on Wednesdays from February 9 to April 6, 2022.

Real Life Cases

Students will participate in a full week of interactive educational experiences. Practice will be given incorporating real-life cases and scenarios. Students will work individually and together to solve engaging cases in probate, real estate, and more. The course will even close with a game show!

Expand Your Skills

In addition to practice and experience, this course offers an opportunity for students to dive deeper into important skills in forensic genealogy. Advanced techniques will be taught in finding elusive individuals, efficient case management, mortgage, mineral rights, citizenship, and heir research. Students will also delve into important topics such as resolving conflicting evidence, ethical considerations and decisions, and maintaining genealogical standards.

The full schedule for this course, faculty bios, and course details can be found here.

Join us for SLIG Virtual Academy 2022

Held virtually, the SLIG Academy for Professionals promises in-depth, advanced educational opportunities targeted at current and developing genealogy professionals. SLIG Academy offers high-intermediate to advanced education and includes courses on business management, writing, public speaking, teaching, forensics, and project management. Visit our website to view a full selection of available courses.

Learn more about SLIG Academy for Professionals 2022. Registration is open now! Create a registration account today! If you have any questions, please reach out to the UGA registrar: registrar@slig.ugagenealogy.org.

Are You a Professional Genealogist or Transitioning to Be One?

If you are a professional genealogist and need to sharpen your skills or if you are transitioning towards becoming a professional, then the following SLIG Academy courses with seats remaining may be right for you:

• Course 1: The Art of Writing Client Reports (McGhie)
• Course 4: DNA for the 21st-Century Professional
• Course 5: Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy
• Course 6: Writing and Documenting for Peer Review
• Course 7: Project Management Essentials for the Professional Genealogist

Come to SLIG Academy in 2020 and celebrate with us on our 25th anniversary of helping our students elevate their genealogical education! For more details on SLIG Academy go here.

The Fast-Growing Field of Forensic Genealogy

Come explore your potential role in the fast-growing field of forensic genealogy with Catherine B. W. Desmarais, CG and her instructor team, including:

• Angie Bush, MS
• Kelvin L. Meyers
• Michael S. Ramage, JD, CG

The instructors—all who are all experienced, practicing forensic genealogists—will introduce students to a broad spectrum of topics. Mornings will be spent exploring business practices, work products and skill development, while afternoons will delve into the types of work in which forensic genealogists engage. Students will learn the fundamental skills needed to establish or strengthen their own forensic genealogy practice.

This course is intended for those with advanced genealogy research skills who are interested in learning more about the field of forensic genealogy as a career. You will find it helpful to be familiar with Genealogy Standards (Washington, DC: Board for Certification of Genealogists, 2014) and Elizabeth Shown Mills, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018).

For Catherine's video and more information, go here.

In 2020, Celebrate 25 Years with SLIG!

In January 2020, the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) is celebrating 25 years -- its silver anniversary -- of bringing quality instruction to students to elevate their genealogical education to new heights.

SLIG will be held starting Sunday, January 12th, and concluding with a banquet on Friday, January 17th. The following fifteen courses are available:

• Course 1: Settlers in the New World and Immigrants to a New Nation: Colonial Times to 1900
• Course 2: Guide to Treasures Found in Federal Records
• Course 3: Early US Church Records
• Course 4: Advanced Research Tools: Land Records
• Course 5: Corpus Juris: Advanced Legal Concepts for Genealogy
• Course 6: Virginia from the Colonial Period to the Civil War: Her Records, Her People, Her Laws
• Course 7: Maryland: Researching in the Old Line State
• Course 8: Chinese Ancestry: Research Methods and Sources
• Course 9: Advanced Hispanic Research
• Course 10: Introduction to Genetic Genealogy
• Course 11: Meeting Standards Using DNA Evidence--Research Strategies
• Course 12: Researching Like a Professional
• Course 13: Applying Standards to Appraise Genealogical Work
• Course 14: Advanced Genealogical Methods
• Course 15: Technical Writing for Genealogists 

The Academy will be held the following week, January 19th to the 24th, and the following seven courses are available:

• Academy Course 1: The Art of Writing Client Reports
• Academy Course 2: You're Invited: Public Speaking from Concept to Delivery
• Academy Course 3: Building and Nurturing a Successful Genealogy Business
• Academy Course 4: DNA for the 21st-Century Professional
• Academy Course 5: Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy
• Academy Course 6: Writing and Documenting for Peer Review
• Academy Course 7: Project Management Essentials for the Professional Genealogist

Registration for SLIG will open at 9:00 am MDT on Saturday, July 13th, with registration for the Academy opening at 2:00 pm MDT.

To facilitate quick check-out with your course, special events are added to
your registration separately.

Lodging reservations also open on July 13th.

The Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy

Come explore your potential role in the fast-growing field of forensic genealogy with Catherine B. W. Desmarais, CG and her instructor team, including:

• Angie Bush, MS
• Kelvin L. Meyers
• Michael S. Ramage, JD, CG

The instructors—all who are all experienced, practicing forensic genealogists—will introduce students to a broad spectrum of topics. Mornings will be spent exploring business practices, work products and skill development, while afternoons will delve into the types of work in which forensic genealogists engage. Students will learn the fundamental skills needed to establish or strengthen their own forensic genealogy practice.

This course is intended for those with advanced genealogy research skills who are interested in learning more about the field of forensic genealogy as a career. You will find it helpful to be familiar with Genealogy Standards (Washington, DC: Board for Certification of Genealogists, 2014) and Elizabeth Shown Mills, Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards (Baltimore, Md.: Genealogical Publishing Co., 2018).

For more information, go here.

What is Forensic Genealogy?

Forensic Genealogy is connecting the living with the dead. You might say that about all genealogy, but the work of a Forensic Genealogist helps adoptees find the their parents, lawyers find heirs, repatriates remains of MIA solders with their love ones.

It is an exciting aspect to genealogical research. It truly connects the generations. You'll learn the process of writing up affidavits for court cases, timesaving techniques and strategies to streamline your work. This is a not to be missed class.

Registration opens July 9, at 9 am MDT. Classes fill quickly, be sure to register early!