The BCG Education Fund is pleased to announce our fall Putting Skills to Work event:

Writing About Genetic Evidence: Practice the Principles to Meet Genealogy Standards presented by Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG^®, CGG ^SM, BCG Trustee

Students engage in hands-on activities designed to teach the principles applicable to written work discussing genetic evidence. Genealogy Standards provides the organizing framework. The workshop focuses on crafting paragraphs that tie together the documentary and genetic evidence with reasoning. Students practice writing about a wide variety of genealogical questions that are answered with the integration of documentary and genetic evidence. Activities provide guidance about the selection of evidence to include and exclude. Documentation principles help the student create citations that communicate analysis to the reader. Students design reader-friendly tables and figures and write paragraphs to explain the data presented. Topics include writing about pedigree evaluation and mitigation, pedigree collapse, and conflict resolution.

This 3.5 hour workshop will be presented virtually on two different days. Attendees can choose their preferred day.

• Tuesday, 12 November 2024, beginning at 11 AM (ET):
• Saturday, 16 November 2024, beginning at 10 AM (ET):

Registration opens at 11 AM (ET) on 1 July 2024.  Attendance is capped at 30 attendees for each session. The fee is $60. The event will not be recorded.

Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG^®, CGG ^SM, BCG Trustee, is an author and national lecturer focusing on topics related to using genetic evidence correlated with documentary evidence to solve genealogical brick walls. A Chicago local, she holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Chicago and has completed advanced graduate study in Social Anthropology at the Colegio de Michoacán, Mexico. Her genealogical practice specializes in Midwestern U.S., Chicago, and Mexican research as well as complex problem-solving, unknown parentage, and DNA analysis. She is a coordinator and faculty member at IGHR, and SLIG. She received the NGSQ Award for Excellence for two  complex evidence case studies incorporating traditional documentary research and autosomal DNA analysis in the June 2016 and June 2023 issues of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. She published “Drowning in DNA? The Genealogical Proof Standard Tosses a Lifeline” in Debbie Parker Wayne’s book Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies.  She holds the credentials Certified Genealogist and Certified Genetic Genealogist from the Board for Certification of Genealogists where she serves as a Trustee and is chair of the DNA Committee.

Attendee Prerequisite Knowledge:

Students should be able to apply the Genealogical Proof Standard to assess biological relationship conclusions. They should be familiar with Genealogy Standards.  This workshop is designed for those who are skilled in using DNA evidence to answer genealogical research questions and now seek additional training on creating the written conclusion.

Past workshops and instructors

Mary McCampbell Bell, CG. “Abstracting Records: Land Records,” 2003, 2004. “Abstracting Documents,” 2007.
Jeanne Larzalere Bloom, CG. “Spreadsheets 201: Manipulating Data to Dismantle Brick Walls,” 2016.
Melinde Lutz Byrne, CG, FASG, FNGS. “Editor’s Ink: Writing for Genealogical Journals,” 2012.
Victor S. Dunn, CG. “I Rest My Case: Constructing a Convincing Proof Argument,” 2014.
Stefani Evans, CG. "Understanding the Records," 2021.
Ann Carter Fleming, CG, CGL, FNGS. “Writing Family History: Style, Index, and More,” 2009.
Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL, FNGS. “Planning Research,” 2006. “Writing the Ancestral Story,” 2009.
Harold Henderson, CG. "Making Genealogical Conclusions Readable, Understandable, and Credible," 2021
Marty Hiatt, CG. “Writing Reports,” 2006. “Arguing: Writing Proof Summaries,” 2007.
Sharon Hoyt, CG. "Organizing and Analyzing Evidence for Genealogical Success," 2024 Melissa Johnson, CG. "Meeting Standards with Twenty-First Century Research Reports," 2019.
Robbie Johnson, CG. "Research Insider: The Whole Story," 2023.
Jan Joyce, DBA, CG, CGL, AG. "Deconstruct to Reconstruct: Writing Proof Arguments for Maximum Impact," 2024.
Rebecca Whitman Koford, CG, CGL. "Walk a Mile in Their Shoes: Writing the Ancestors' Stories with Social History and Historical Context," 2022.
Karen Mauer Jones, CG, FGBS, FUGA. "Tackling the Family Narrative," 2022. 
Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG, CGL, FASG, FNGS, FUGA. “Genealogical Documentation: What, Why, and How,” 2008. “Editing Your Own and Others’ Genealogical Writing,” 2012. "Citing All Kinds of Online Sources," 2018. "Detecting, Assessing, Assembling, and Reasoning from Genealogical Evidence," 2021.
Connie Lenzen, CG. “Historical Context: More Than A Timeline,” 2013. "Planning and Executing Reasonably Exhaustive Research; or, How to Ensure a Successful Hunt," 2018.
Barbara Vines Little, CG, FNGS, FVGS. “Working with Documents: From Discovery to What Comes Next,” 2011.
David McDonald, D.Min., CG. “Reach for the Power Tools: Transcriptions & Abstractions,” 2016.
Teresa Steinkamp McMillin, CG. "Research Insider: Putting the Puzzle Together," 2023.
Nancy A. Peters, CG. “Make Your Case: Correlating Evidence to Solve Genealogical Problems,” 2017. "Evidence Analysis: Theory, Practice, and the Real World," 2019. "Reporting on Research: Applying Standards Improves Written Communications," 2023.
Beverly Rice, CG. “The Path To Change And A Better Life—Migration,” 2013.
Judy Russell, JD, CG, CGL. "Understanding the Law," 2021.
Sara A. Scribner, CG. “Make Your Case: Constructing and Writing Proof Discussions,” 2017.

Roster of Special Workshop Instructors

Debbie Parker Wayne, CG, CGL. “Genetic Genealogy: Effective Analysis and Correlation of DNA Test Results.” 2015.