Meet the Ambassadors

Our first ambassador on board was Kirsty Gray. She started her family history really young (aged around 7) and is now one of the UK’s leading genealogists and is a People Finder and Heir Tracer running her own company, Family Wise Limited since 2012 (ThePeopleTracer on Twitter). She is a family and local historian with two one-place studies in Devon (Luffincott and Tetcott) and a worldwide surname study on the Sillifant surname.

Kirsty is an innovator in the field of genealogy. She is a founder member and Chair of The Surname Society and of the Society for One-Place Studies as well as Show Director for THE Genealogy Show. She is also a member of various societies including Devon Family History Society, Hampshire Genealogical Society and West Middlesex Family History Society.

Kirsty has featured on various TV and radio shows with highlights being her appearance on Qui-Etes Vous? (Who Do You Think You Are?) in Canada and BBC1’s Family Finders in the UK.

As well as all this, Kirsty is an author and lecturer in the geneasphere (www.kirstygray.co.uk) and also in various business circles.

We’re so happy to have Kirsty on board and are excited to learn from her experience in UK genealogy and as a young genealogist herself. One of her first published articles was Help, I’m too young to be a family historian! so she gets where The Hidden Branch team are right now!

Our second ambassador on board was John Boeren. John Boeren, LLM, PLCGS is a genealogy professional in the Netherlands with 30+ years of experience. He started his business, called ‘Antecedentia | Genealogy in the Netherlands,’ in January 2015. His services include genealogical and family history research, transcriptions and translations of documents, heritage trips, advice and mentoring, lectures and courses. He is one of few full-time professional genealogists in the Netherlands. 

He is a member of several national and international genealogical societies, and currently a board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and THE Genealogy Show. He was vice-president of the Dutch Genealogical Society (NGV), and a board member of the International Society for Family History Writers and Editors (ISFHWE). 

John is a graduate from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies (Professional Development Program 2019, English Records Certificate 2020). Currently he is in the certificate program of the University of Strathclyde. 

He wrote articles for magazines and weblogs and is the author of Legacy’s QuickGuide on Dutch genealogy. He frequently speaks at national and international events, both virtual and in-person. 

We’re happy to have John on board sharing with us his expertise of Dutch genealogy.

Our next ambassador on board was Peggy Clemens Lauritzen, known to us as Miss Peggy. Based in Ohio, United States, Miss Peggy has 50+ years in genealogy, mostly dealing with those in the southern United States and the European migrations that brought them to the area.

Peggy Lauritzen has been an Accredited Genealogist for nearly twenty-five years, and has been involved in genealogy research her entire life. She is the author of several Legacy QuickGuides on Appalachia, an instructor at Ancestry Academy and Family Tree University, an instructor at several GRIP and SLIG courses, and a columnist for Reminisce Magazine. In 2018 she was the recipient of the Laura G. Prescott Award for Exemplary Service to Professional Genealogy and became a Fellow of the Ohio Genealogical Society. She is a former researcher at Ancestry ProGenealogists. Find out more about Miss Peggy and her research on her website.

We’re looking forward to working with Miss Peggy and learning from her wealth of experience in Southern US genealogy.

Lisa Alzo was our fourth ambassador on board. Located in Ithaca, NY, USA, Lisa has been researching her family history for over 30 years; and has been a genealogy educator for 20+ years. Her research interests are in Eastern European Genealogy (especially Slovakia/Hungary), and Writing Family History.

Lisa A. Alzo, M.F.A., is a freelance writer, instructor, and internationally recognized lecturer, specializing in Eastern European genealogical research and using creative nonfiction to share family stories. She grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania and earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Nutrition from West Virginia Wesleyan College in 1987 and a Master of Fine Arts degree in Nonfiction Writing from the University of Pittsburgh in 1997. Lisa is the author of eleven books, including The Family Tree Polish, Czech and Slovak Genealogy Guide, and the award-winning Three Slovak Women, and hundreds of magazine articles.  Lisa is a contributing editor for Family Tree Magazine and works as an online educator and writing coach through her website Research, Write, Connect. She also developed the Eastern European Research Certificate Program for the National Institute for Genealogical Studies Lisa is a frequently invited speaker for national conferences, genealogical and historical societies, and webinars. An avid genealogist for more than 30 years, Lisa chronicles her family history adventures on her blog, The Accidental Genealogist.  Visit https://www.lisaalzo.com for more information.

We’re excited to be working with Lisa and learning from her experience in Eastern European research.

Our next ambassador on board was Jonny Perl. Jonny is located in London and Swansea, UK, and has 14 years experience in genealogy. His research specialisms include Irish genealogy, particularly Antrim/Down and Monaghan/Tyrone/Armagh; English genealogy, particularly Hampshire, Isle of Wight and Shropshire; and Scottish genealogy, focusing on Wigtownshire. Jonny also has significant experience in DNA research, with particular interest in Ashkenazic DNA.

Jonny founded the website DNA Painter to help people interpret their DNA test results. This site won the grand prize in the DNA Innovation contest at Rootstech 2018 in Salt Lake City, UT. Developing, expanding and maintaining DNA Painter is currently his main activity.

In addition, Jonny is a member of the Society of Genealogists and has taught classes at their in-person and online courses. He has also presented at Family Tree Live, RootsTech, RootsTech London, Genetic Genealogy Ireland and THE Genealogy Show.

We’re looking forward to working with Jonny and expanding our knowledge of using DNA in genealogy.