Project Management Essentials for Genealogy Research

In genealogy, a well-planned, well-managed project provides clarity, reduces risk, controls cost, and delivers value to the client. This course has been developed for the professional genealogist, that might be working independently, transitioning to an organization or experience in a larger organization. In this course, you will learn the fundamentals and best practices of project management through theories, cases, templates and hands-on exercises.

This course has an amazing lineup of instructors that will be sharing their knowledge and expertise on how they make things work smoothly behind the scenes. This course is recommended for any genealogist that is looking to expand their business beyond themselves or wants to go and work at any of the larger companies (e.g., ProGenealogists, Legacy Tree, FamilySearch).

• Brent M. Hansen, DBA, PMP, IPMA-C 
• Christy Fillerup 
• Laura Giometta, PMP 
• Rebecca Groberg, PMP 
• Jon Lambert 
• Kory L. Meyerink, AG, FUGA 
• Karina E. Morales, AG 
• Reed Shell, PMP 
• Jessica Taylor 
• Traci Vaughn-Grutta 

Led by Coordinator Brent M. Hansen, Brent is the Program Manager leading the projects of African Heritage at FamilySearch. As a Program Manager, he oversees all project work happening at FamilySearch for those of African heritage in the United States, the African Diaspora, and in Africa. In 2020, his team plans to share over 25 million records of people in the United States related to the enslaved period. His team is currently building capability and experiences for those of African descent to do family history research.

Let's get to know Brent's capable instructors a little better:

Christy Fillerup is a long-time professional genealogist and former Association of Professional Genealogists Quarterly Managing Editor. She is tenacious in solving complex research problems. As the Editing Team Lead for Legacy Tree Genealogists, she works with professional researchers from across the globe to translate research findings into an end product that a client can understand and appreciate.

Laura Giometta leads the Program Management Office (PMO) for FamilySearch’s Engagement Division. She oversees all large projects and major initiatives happening across FamilySearch. She has a staff of several program managers that set program standards and manages cross divisional work. If something big is happening at FamilySearch, Laura’s team is likely involved in leading the effort. Prior to this role, Laura managed the records publication processes of FamilySearch. She is also a consummate researcher and professional genealogist in her time away from the office. Her specialty includes Italian 
research.

Rebecca Groberg is no stranger to professional genealogical research. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Family History and Genealogy from Brigham Young University with an emphasis in Germanic localities and has completed many research projects in that region. She worked as a professional genealogist before beginning employment with the world’s largest genealogical organization, FamilySearch International. There she works as a program manager, coordinating the efforts of multiple overlapping projects. Rebecca is a certified Project Management Professional and is passionate about affective project management skills. She sees great value in combining genealogical research processes with project management skills to produce better results.

Jon Lambert is the key manager at Ancestry ProGenealogists focusing on the client experience, team communication and sales in his role as Director of Global Client Relations. In his role, John oversees and trains the companies client relations managers who are each partnered with multiple research managers to help them with managing case loads, meeting deadlines, providing clear and appropriate communication to a client and helping clients define their expectations and goals for their research. Jon's greatest talents lie in his ability to communicate: both as a team and between genealogists and a client.

Kory L. Meyerink is not only a genealogist with a long resume of experience, but he is also an experienced professional project manager and business man. As a co-founder of ProGenealogists, Kory brought to life one of the largest genealogy consulting businesses in existence today and as such helped define the role of a project manager at that company. Now Ancestry ProGenealogists, Kory continues to work at the company as a research manager where he oversees a team of researchers and large numbers of client cases and is responsible for their management and quality from start to finish. In addition to his direct role as a project manager, Kory also has taken on the role of Master Genealogist where he assists in the development of best practices for case management and client relations in addition to the training and development of fellow genealogists and project managers.

Karina Morales leads the Content Strategy at FamilySearch for Latin America. This involved detailed research about the countries, archives, and records available. Her work translates into the digital capture of images and eventually into searchable records on FamilySearch. She travels extensively throughout Latin America. Prior to working at FamilySearch, Karina worked at ProGenealogists as a researcher.

Reed Shell leads an award-winning Project Management Office (Project Management Institute – Northern Utah – 2019) in FamilySearch’s technology division. His team helps put design, develop and implement the technology that people around the world use on the FamilySearch website. He understands well change management and agile project management. In his free time, he volunteers with the Project Management Institute and teaches for the University of Utah Professional Development.

Jessica Taylor founded Legacy Tree Genealogists in 2004. It has since grown to a multi-million dollar company, with over 35 employees and a thousand additional contractors spread across the globe. Legacy Tree is the highest client-rated genealogy research company in the world and the recommended research company of MyHeritage, 23andMe, RootsMagic, and more. Helping clients discover their roots, connect with biological family and preserve their legacies, while caring for our team of superstar professionals, is Legacy Tree Genealogists’ joy and passion.

Traci Vaughn-Grutta is the muscle behind international research at Ancestry ProGenealogists without being a genealogist herself. As a Director of Operations for the company she has been integral in the expansion of the role of genealogists into project management as part of the company's "ideal state." She trains, oversees and assists research managers and team managers who oversee both large numbers of employees and handle 40+ client cases at a time. Her knowledge base and projects over the past few years have focused on cost management and budgets, setting standards for the client experience at Ancestry ProGenealogists, and expanding the management capabilities of the international teams.

These instructors will share best practices and proven project management techniques. Students will be introduced to new ways of thinking about old problems and by the end of this course, they should have gained a good understanding and experience of the core competencies that make a successful project manager.

For more details and to register, go here.