Thomas P. Bocek has been a volunteer librarian at the Baltimore Maryland Stake Family History Center since 1998.  He is a retired engineer.  His memberships include the Baltimore County Genealogical Society, Eastern European Study Group, and Polish Genealogy Society of America.  During the past eighteen years Tom has been working on Eastern European research for his family.

Julia Coldren-walker began her personal genealogical research began in 1967 with sporadic activity until 1987 when it became continuous. Began using internet for genealogical research in 1990 with Compuserve Genealogy Forum. Attended NGS Conferences in 1990, 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 1997, 1999, 2000, 2003, 2007, & 2009. Attended FGS Conferences in 2001, 2007, 2008, & 2010. Attended New England Regional Genealogy Conference in 2003 & 2007. Served as Registrar for Toaping Castle Chapter, NSDAR 1993- 2000, 2002-2006 & 2008-2010. Began genealogical lecturing in 1999. Lectured at the Baltimore Stake (Essex) FHC every year since 2000.

JOAN M. E. GAITHER, Ed. D is a native Baltimorean with a history of helping to integrate local schools and businesses during the Civil Rights Movement, receiving a B.S. degree from Morgan University (an historic Black College) in 1965 and her Ph.D. from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in 1998. She is an active member in national, state, and local professional arts organizations, as well as her familial, social, and spiritual communities.

Only as recently as 2000 did Joan hand stitch her first and fairly large narrative quilt, My Story: A Family Quilt. This embellished, layered, and color-coded 10'X12' text and image statement of her culture, with brilliant Maryland State Flag colors, photo transfers of family members, threads of gold, and multiple levels of attachments offered clues to the careers and identity of aging and young faces in such a way as to project power and seemed to come alive under the exhibition lights. And it became the catalyst for the more than ten quilts she would hand-stitch during the next 3 years. As more quilts began to take shape, deeply buried memories became "unlayered" in fiber and mixed media to address issues of celebration, identity, protection, racism, and survival. Her process is reflective and requires interaction with the selections of fiber type, texture, color and objects of embellishment that then put gold threads of hope and celebration into her personal narrative art works.

Joan's work today as an artist/educator follows several interrelated strands and ideas that have emerged from her long commitment to the education of children.

NOREEN J. GOODSON  was born and raised in Baltimore, MD.  She is a graduate of Eastern High School, Morgan State College and Morgan State University.  For 30 years she taught elementary school in the Baltimore City Public School System.  In 1981, she began researching her parents' families in Maryland (Baltimore City and northern Baltimore County), Virginia (Dinwiddie County) and South Carolina (Richland County).  She is the Corresponding Secretary/Secretary of BAAHGS (Baltimore's Agnes Kane Callum Chapter of the Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, Inc.).  She is also a member of the Maryland Genealogical Society and of the historical societies of Maryland, Virginia, South Carolina and Baltimore City.  She is currently researching the Goodsons of Richland County, SC.

ADRIAN J. GRAVELLE has been a lawyer for over forty years and has spent most of his time in the practice of criminal law in the Army. Colonel Gravelle served the last seven years of his military career as an appellate judge on the U.S. Army Court of Criminal Appeals, Falls Church, Virginia, and participated as a judge in over two thousand felony appellate cases. He is the author of over sixty published judicial opinions and several hundred unpublished opinions.

He has been a genealogy researcher for over thirty years, and since his retirement in 1997, has been a full-time researcher and occasional instructor, specializing in French-Canadian genealogical research.  He is an active volunteer at the LDS Family History Center in Columbia, Maryland.

Jerry Hynson received a B.A. from St. John’s College in Annapolis, Maryland and a M.Ed. from Loyola College in Baltimore, Maryland.  He was a teacher and administrator for the Baltimore City Schools for 30 years.  He is President Emeritus of the Maryland Genealogical Society and Vice President of the Baltimore Chapter of the African American Historical and Genealogical Society.  He has received the James W. Dent Award for Outstanding Accomplishments in African American History and Genealogy.

Rebecca Whitman Koford has been researching professionally since 2000. She lives in Mt. Airy with her very patient husband and three children. She is a former Assistant Director for the Columbia Family History Center, and now works at the Frederick FHC. She has taught Beginning and Advanced Genealogy for Howard Community College, been a Group Leader for ProGen Online Study Groups, and is currently the Treasurer of the National Capital Area Chapter of APG. She is the Lead Genealogist for Reel Tributes, creators of family history documentaries.

John N. Krause was born and raised in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. He served in the US Air Force in the 60s and attended the University of Indiana and Syracuse University under the Air Force Russian language program. He served 3 years in Germany before resigning for the Air Force. Mr. Krause graduated for the University of Maryland (BA in Russian). In 2006 he retired from the US government after 30 plus years. He has been doing genealogical research since 1980 and is primarily interested in Maine, Ireland, and Germany. He has made several trips to Ireland to do genealogical research in Dublin.

PHYLLIS LEGARE has been doing family research for ten years and for six years has been lecturing at Family History Centers, Genealogy Societies and special events. She teaches a variety of genealogy courses at the Adult Education Programs in Loudoun and Fairfax counties Virginia. Having once been a teacher, she values sharing and learning. Phyllis is a member of the Fairfax Genealogical Society, The Mt. Vernon Genealogical Society, The New England Historical Society and the Maine Genealogical Society.

Pam Loos-Noji, Ph.D., has been involved with family history for about 6 years after life as a medieval art historian.  She works mostly in the Northeast, but has researched on the West Coast and in Hawaii to work on her husband's family history. Her interest in the Japanese-American experience on the West Coast led her to a major project with some documents at the Archives that culminated in an article in NGS Magazine.  In recent years she has been a volunteer at the Kensington Family History Center and the National Archives, and the Program Chair of the Montgomery County Genealogy Club.  She is a member of NGS, NEHGS, APG, and the Descendants of the Founders of Ancient Windsor.  Currently she is a verifying genealogist at the National Society, Daughters of the American Revolution.  Her website is: www.kinworkconnections.com. 

JOHN C. LYON has for many years been using source land records to develop a complete digital map and cultural database from more than 12,000 Maryland private land grants on the Lower Eastern Shore, showing settlement and economic development of the region since the 1660s.  This database, which covers all the three counties of Somerset, Worcester and Wicomico and parts of neighboring Dorchester and Delaware’s Sussex, also incorporates records on each property from deeds, probate, court records, taxation and other original sources.  It has been widely used in a variety of historical, archaeological and genealogical studies.  Mr. Lyon, of Columbia, has more than 40 years experience in government and private sector aerospace.  He has worked in Houston and Maryland on programs ranging from Apollo to the Hubble Space Telescope.  He retired in 1997 as Chief Engineer of Mission Operations and Data Systems at NASA Goddard.  He is now an aerospace consultant, and often speaks to historical groups.

Angela Packer McGhie is a genealogical researcher, lecturer and instructor. She serves as the administrator of the ProGen Study Program, president of the National Capital Area Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and assistant director of the Columbia Maryland Family History Center. She is the coordinator for the 2012 Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and a genealogy instructor for Howard Community College. Angela writes a blog on genealogy education at www.genealogyeducation.blogspot.com and is a member of the Savage Mill Ward in the Columbia Stake.

His interest in family history began as a young boy, but he became an avid researcher in 1993.  Family oral history dates his family as being in Ohio for over 150 years.  He was fortunate to live for several years in the Washington metropolitan area and take advantage of the many resources available.  After retiring to Delaware, he discovered Delaware roots that have been confirmed through DNA testing. 

Mr. Nelson is a Charter member of the Sussex County Genealogical Society (SCGS) and has served as their Public Relations Chairman, Vice President and Program Chairman, and President.  He is also a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and is one of the founding members of the SCGS’ Speaker’s Bureau.  Mr. Nelson conducts genealogy classes as part of the Delaware Technical and Community College’s Adult Plus Program.

Karen also serves as an employment specialist in the Susquehanna Ward of the Baltimore Maryland Stake.  Besides family history, she enjoys uncovering the secrets of the computer and the internet, traveling, music, finding a good deal, and reading.  She and her husband Wayne have 5 children and 6.3 grandchildren.

John Polk recently retired from a 41 year career as a mathematician and scientist at the U S Army Research Laboratory and its predecessor, the Ballistic Research Laboratory, at Aberdeen Proving Ground MD. He also served as the International Programs Manager, responsible for the laboratory's international cooperative research and development programs. His historical research interests began with an initial focus on his own Polk/Pollock family history but grew into the broader area of eastern shore (DelMarVa) colonial history and the Scotch-Irish migration into the mid-Atlantic region. He recently published a paper in the Journal for Scotch-Irish Studies entitled "From Lifford to the Chesapeake; the Advent of the Scotch-Irish in America" and is author of Volume 535 of the Archives of Maryland On Line, "Somerset County Judicial Records, 1692-1696, Abstracts with Selected Transcriptions."    

BETH FROEHLINGER POWELL (Instructor and Workshop Committee Member - Faculty Coordinator) is a 5th generation Baltimorean with roots in France, Germany and Sicily.  She is currently serving as the Baltimore Family History Center Assistant Instructor and Librarian.  Beth has deep admiration and gratitude for the selflessness and scholarship of the Baltimore Family History Workshop faculty.  Other interests Beth has include being out on the beach and in the forests and mountains, reading, wellness and balance, preparedness, serving in her family and Church and community.  Beth is LDS, a member of the Jones Falls Ward, and is serving with her husband in the Baltimore Young Single Adult Ward.  She is a mom of 4 and mother-in-law to 3, all inspiring young people.

Trained as an art historian, Richard Raymond has traced his recent ancestry back to the mid-1500s. His research has been absolutely dependent on direct study of the Mormon Church's microfilms of American and European vital records. And these microfilms continue to be crucial to his research, even in today's era of computer and digital technology.

ROBERT SCHMIDT has been engaged in genealogy since 1990 and a volunteer at a Family History Center since then. His research has been in the USA, England, Ireland and recently, Germany.   He and his wife have spent numerous days in England doing research into her family history with records which have not been filmed.

Cheryl H. Singhal (Brickwall Inquiries) began working in genealogy in January 1971. She has taught Free University classes in Genealogy (1976-79) at Louisiana State University Baton Rouge, and lead workshops for the East Baton Rouge Parish (La.) Library. In 1994, she joined the thin ranks of computer genealogists. She is a Past President of the Baton Rouge (La.) Genealogical and Historical Society, and a Past President of the Capital PAF Users Group in Kensington Md. She is a member of the United Daughters of the Confederacy, and a Past Regent of her Chapter in Daughters of the American Revolution. She is the Genealogist for the Cresap Society and is a member of the Shanholtzer Reunion. She volunteered at the FHC in Baton Rouge, while it was housed at the University, and since 1991 has been on-staff at the DC Temple FHC. She is a frequent presenter at FHC workshops in the area. Additionally, she participates in data-entry projects for the UDC, the DAR, and the FHL. In 2008, she received the National Genealogical Society's Award of Merit for her long-term involvement with their Member Ancestor Charts project, now on-line.

VERNON L. SKINNER, JR. (Brickwall Inquiries) was born and raised just outside of Baltimore City. His father is descended from the earliest settlers of Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia (Eastern Shore). His mother is a first generation American of German descent. He attended the University of Maryland at College Park, graduating with a B.S. in mathematics and an M.S. in computer science. He speaks German and French.

After retiring from 30 years with IBM, Mr. Skinner continued his love of genealogy, both in Maryland and in Germany. He is the author of numerous articles and over 60 books, primarily abstracts of probate records of the Prerogative Court of Provincial Maryland. He is currently a member of Sons of American Revolution, Upper Shore Genealogical Society, and Maryland Genealogical Society. He is a past president of Maryland Genealogical Society, past director of Genealogical County of Maryland, and past member of the Search Room Advisory Committee of the Maryland State Archives. 

Jack has lived in Wisconsin, New York City, Long Island, Vermont, Ohio, Virginia, and the last 30 years here in PA. He and his wife Sylvia spend almost all of their waking hours looking for and getting to know their ancestors as well as helping others do the same.  They have traveled to his ancestral home in Holland and Germany. They serve as Family History Consultants in the York 2nd Ward of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints and also work in the Family History Center. They publish a large genealogy newsletter each month and try to attend as many genealogical conferences as possible. They recently completed serving a Family History Mission for the Church, answering queries from all over the world from people who have family history questions.

Sylvia Sonneborn, B.S., M.E., has been an English instructor for 39 years in a public high school [now retired]. She has also served as a certified family history consultant and staff member of the York Family History Center for 17 years. She and her husband Jack, who are frequent presenters at family history workshops, also frequently attend a family history conference at Brigham Young University, and they publish a genealogy newsletter monthly. Sylvia is the mother of one son and has one grandson. She recently served one year as a worldwide support missionary for new FamilySearch; she is also a family history Sunday School teacher.

Allender Sybert is a native of Baltimore and a descendant of several colonial families of Baltimore County. He has been researching family history for many years. He is currently the President of the Maryland Genealogical Society, and Book Review Editor of the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal.

THOMAS TEGLASSY is the Area Representative for a company engaged in identifying and locating missing family members.  He is also a Family History Consultant at (Baltimore City) Inner Harbor Ward of the LDS Church. Formerly he was a Marketing and Advertising professional in the travel/leisure industry. He is a native of Hungary and has a PhD in Business Economics.

JANE THURSBY was born and raised in Towson, Maryland.  She didn’t get interested in genealogy until her paternal grandmother died at the age of 103½.  Among her effects, Jane found her father’s baby book which contained a four-generation family tree.  Her science research background immediately had her hooked on the mystery of who those people were.  That was over 15 years ago and since then she has identified them as well as her 3rd great-grandparents (32), her 4th great-grandparents (64), and almost all her 5th grand-parents (120 of 128.) Jane is the current president of the Frederick County Genealogical Society.

DEBBIE WALK has been an active member of the LDS church for 15 years and is currently Stake Records Extraction Co-Director and Stake Cultural Arts Director.

STEVE WALK has been a member of the LDS church for 14 Years and is currently serving as the Stake Records Extraction Director.

SHEILA WALLACE is a former director of the Columbia, Maryland Family History Center and also served there as technical services coordinator for many years. She has also served as a Ward Family History Consultant.  She earned the Certificate in Family History from BYU, and computer related degrees from both Montgomery College and the University of Maryland. By day, she is a corporate computer geek, but really prefers to spend time with dead people.

She has been researching her own ancestors since 1981 and will do occasional professional work if coerced. Her primary research areas are the mid-Atlantic and New England states, as well as England, Scotland, and Germany. She has travelled to both England & Scotland in search of ancestors.

Over the years, she has taught genealogy courses and been a guest speaker at genealogy societies in the Baltimore area. She enjoys teaching classes, but is always eager to be a student and learn new things as well. Genealogy is such fun!

DAVID WARDELL is an independent writer and producer of business, trade, and assignment photo and video projects. He has extensive expertise in photographic restoration and preservation.

He is also extensively involved with computer system management and application development. His interest in genealogical research and documentation began in the 1970s and he has been an assistant director at multiple Family History Centers.

Dolly Sullivent Ziegler (Brickwall Panel and Committee Member) has researched her family since 1970 and has been a Family History Center librarian for 40 years -- 25 years in Billings, Montana, FHCs and 15 years in Maryland. She has been involved with the Baltimore FHC genealogy workshop since its first year, 1999, when she taught classes on the very new website FamilySearch. She marvels at how that modest beginning has grown and blossomed into today's FamilySearch.org.  Dolly said, "I've been doing research for a really long time -- see my photo."  Editor's note:  I've heard from several people that they didn't have a recent photo... Dolly's stage shot gets the prize for "most not-recent" photo.  Can you tell you can't help but have fun when Dolly's around?