I attended my first genetic genealogy conference this past weekend. The 2016 International Genetic Genealogy Conference is the product of CeCe Moore and Dr. Tim Janzen’s Institute for Genetic Genealogy or i4GG for short. This is only the second one to be held, the first one being held in Washington D.C. two years ago.
I have been to several classes and webinars, including a chromosome mapping course earlier this year at NGS Fort Lauderdale and taught by geneticist Angie Bush, but I am still at the novice level, mostly from not applying what I have learned due to time restraints and a full time job. This conference, however, has sparked my will power to really dive into it. I have taken tests with the three major companies and have tested my dad, mom, and a maternal uncle, so I have plenty to get me started.
The conference was held at the Sheraton Mission Valley on Saturday and Sunday, October 22-23, 2016 and had approximately 250 attendees. There were two ballrooms where the classes were held, one ballroom being quite a bit smaller. So you had the choice of attending one class or another, but the whole conference was being filmed by CeCe Moore’s husband Lennart Martinson and his company StudioNTV, so I wasn’t too worried when I couldn’t fit into the standing room only presentation of Kitty Cooper’s “Using the Tools at GEDmatch to Find Relatives”.
I would like to especially thank Lennart Martinson for permission to take photos of the event and also to say that he did an excellent job putting the nuts and bolts of this conference together. Everyone had a great time and learned a lot! Lennart mentioned they were already thinking of the next one somewhere up north. San Francisco? Portland? Seattle? We’ll have to wait and see… I can’t wait!
The classes with an asterisk before it are the ones I attended. I can’t wait for the video!
Saturday:
Opening Keynote
*9:00 – 10:00 — The Power of DNA, CeCe Moore
Track One
*10:15 – 11:15 — Evaluating a Genealogical Conclusion including DNA, Blaine Bettinger
11:30 – 12:30 — Using the Tools at GEDmatch to Find Relatives, Kitty Cooper
2:00 – 3:00 — Getting Started with AncestryDNA, Michelle Trostler
*3:15 – 4:15 — Digging Deeper with Autosomal DNA, CeCe Moore
4:30 – 5:30 — Searching for Our Most Distant (Paternal) Ancestors in Cameroon – Y Haplogroup A00, Thomas Krahn
Track Two
10:15 – 11:15 — Basics of Utilizing DNA in Unknown Parentage Search, CeCe Moore
*11:30 – 12:30 — Mirror Trees Explained, Carol Rolnick
*2:00 – 3:00 — How To Use the X chromosome in Family and Origins Searches, Kathy Johnston
3:15 – 4:15 — DNA and the Aftermath of Uncovered Family Secrets, Blaine Bettinger
4:30 – 5:30 — Cold Case Solved: Autosomal DNA Analysis Reveals Lisa Jensen’s Real Identity, Barbara Rae –Venter
Sunday:
All Attendees
*9:00 – 10:00 — Exploring Ethnicity Estimates, CeCe Moore
Track One
*10:15 – 11:15 — DNA Analytics: Using Databases and Spreadsheets to Find Family, Kathleen Fernandes
11:30 – 12:30 — Tracing the Tribe with DNA, Schelly Talalay Dardashti
2:00 – 3:00 — Family Tree DNA, Strength in Numbers: Advancing Your Research Through Group Projects, Janine Cloud
3:15 – 4:15 — Ancestry discoveries with 23andMe , Robin Smith
Track Two
10:15 – 11:15 — When Your Tree Is a Banyan: Coping with Endogamy in Genetic Genealogy, Leah LaPerle Larkin
*11:30 – 12:30 — Advanced Third Party Tools, Blaine Bettinger
*2:00 – 3:00 — Genetic Genealogy Case Studies, CeCe Moore
*3:15 – 4:15 — Practical Applications for mtDNA Testing, CeCe Moore
Closing Keynote
4:30 – 5:30 — The Science Fiction Future of Genetic Genealogy, Blaine Bettinger
Below are some of the better pictures I took.
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| Lennart Martinson's Tool |
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| Pre-conference |
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| Bill Zeigler, editor of the San Diego Genealogical Society's Newsletter. |
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| Keynote by CeCe Moore |
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| Blaine Bettinger getting ready for his presentation. |
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| The vendor hall |
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| YSEQ vendor from Berlin, Germany. |
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| FamilyTree DNA vendor. |
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| Volunteers help with the registration table. |
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| The conference hotel. |
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| MyHeritage was a sponsor. I put up the signs along with a hotel employee. |
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| Just because. |
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| CeCe Moore |
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| Compass Ballroom |
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| Compass Ballroom |
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| Blaine Bettinger |
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| Carol Rolnick |
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| Carol Rolnick |
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| Professional Genealogist Barry Kline |
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| Blaine Bettinger signing his two new books for me. Thanks, Blaine!!! |
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| SDGS friends, Diane Hall and Diane Lott. |
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| Kathy Johnston |
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| Kathy Johnston... You had to be there. |
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| CeCe Moore |
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| CeCe Moore |
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| Local girl, Kathleen Fernandes |
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| Kathleen Fernandes |
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| Blaine Bettinger's class in the Compass Ballroom. |
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| The Compass Ballroom was usually sold out. |
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| Schelly Dardashti giving a MyHeritage presentation. |
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| Lunch with Arizona friends, Laurie and Tiger Desmarais. |
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| CeCe Moore |
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| CeCe Moore |
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| Bling |
