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2023 CGSI Conference Speakers
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CGSI is proud to present the 2023 Conference speaker lineup. These presenters are from various locations, including the Czech and Slovak Republics.
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Lisa A. Alzo, MFA, grew up in Duquesne, Pennsylvania and has written 11 books and hundreds of magazine articles. Lisa has served on the CGSI Board of Directors and is a regular contributor to Naše rodina. She is an online educator and…
Gabriela Bereghazyova, PhD is an expert in corruption and the Slovak mentality, as well as a 3x published author. She completed her education in Slovakia, and in the United Kingdom, which allows her to present the complexity of Central…
Diana J. Bigelow uses a demographic approach to genealogy that focuses on individuals in the context of their unique social and economic culture, uncovering some exciting insights. For years, Diana has been obsessed with why her Iowa Czech…
Marek Blahuš is a Czech (Moravian) IT scientist, computational linguist, genealogist, polyglot and Wikipedian. His interest in genealogy was sparked by distant Chicago-Czech relatives at the age of thirteen.
Kevin Borland is the chief scientist at Borland Genetics, which hosts a leading third-party autosomal DNA database. Kevin holds a bachelor of science degree in physics from MIT and since 2013 has been developing genetic genealogy…
Kate Vasicek Challis is a fifth generation Texas Czech now living in Ankeny, Iowa. Kate has a BA from Brigham Young University in French teaching with a minor in teaching English to speakers of other languages K-12, and she speaks French…
Helene Cincebeaux is a long-term CGSI member and two-time board member. She has traveled extensively in and led 80 tours to the Czech Republic and Slovakia for 50 years, visiting 3,000 villages. She has published five books on traditions,…
Anna Cooková is owner and founder of CzechTalk, LLC and has been teaching Czech in various Czech- American communities for more than 13 years and online since 2012. She enjoys translating old letters, journals, and other documents and…
Ann Vojta Cramer is a member of Sokol Milwaukee. She is in charge of their baking sessions. The volunteer bakers meet to bake for the Milwaukee Holiday Folk Fair and the annual Sokol Milwaukee Czech Dinner. Ann feels it is important for…
Janis Douglass was born and raised in Racine, Wisconsin. She holds a BA in anthropology and linguistics, has pursued graduate studies in Library Science, and has a law degree from the University of Minnesota. Janis has been doing genealogy…
Jan Dus, a professional genealogist, Presbyterian minister, and humanitarian worker, has studied in Czechoslovakia, the United States, and Germany. Jan offers a variety of genealogical research services and trips to ancestral villages…
Benjamin Frommer, our keynote speaker, is an associate professor of history at Northwestern University and the author of National Cleansing: Retribution against Nazi Collaborators in Postwar Czechoslovakia and The Ghetto without Walls: The…
Evelyn Funda, PhD is author of the memoir Weeds: A Farm Daughter’s Lament, which traces her family’s immigration from Bohemia and Moravia to a small farm in southwestern Idaho. Drawing upon her experience of sorting through possessions in…
Joe Gayetsky, a recent graduate of the University of Cincinnati with a degree in History, has researched extensively into understanding the practicalities of the emigrant experience. His work is centered mainly on building a greater…
Christine Hrichak of Bethlehem, Pennsylvania has been researching her Carpatho-Rusyn roots for about 20 years. She enjoys sharing information using maps, data analysis, and photography. Her interests range from local history, especially in…
James Kleinschmidt began his genealogical quest in the early 1990s focusing on his mother's Lanškroun roots. His interest in Lanškroun Manor results from his mother's European ancestors with Lanškroun roots. Ancestors include more than 50…
Stepanka Korytova-Magstadt, an educator and an interdisciplinary and international scholar, is the former director of the Center for the Study of Human Trafficking and Interpersonal Violence, and past director of Global Studies at…
Miroslav Koudelka studied Czech, History and English, with a higher degree in Czechoslovak History. Professional genealogist since 1993. Has performed hundreds of Czech ancestry research projects for individuals from the US and other…
Edward G. Langer, a retired tax lawyer/CPA, started researching German and Czech emigration from the Lanškroun District in 1974 and first traveled to the area in 1979. In 201 9 the town of Lanškroun voted to bestow the town medal on him.…
Daniela Šipková Mahoney was born in Prague where she studied international business and foreign languages. She came to the U.S. in 1982. Daniela cherishes her Czech heritage and has developed educational programs emphasizing preservation…
Greg Nelson is the Content Strategy specialist for East Europe, Central Asia, India, and various US States at FamilySearch. His moonshot goal is to reconstitute all of the families in his ancestral homelands of England, Scotland, Denmark,…
Adina Newman is the creator of My Family Genie, is an internationally renowned professional genealogist and educator specializing in Jewish genealogy, DNA, social media, and New England. She cofounded the DNA Reunion Project at the Center…
Gerald Novotny is the third generation in his family to be a member of Sokol Milwaukee, where he took gymnastics classes as a child. All of Gerald's ancestors were Czech, making him either a third, fourth or fifth generation Czech-American…
Zuzana Palovic, PhD was born during the final years of the Iron Curtain. Dr. Palovic's family fled the communist regime as political refugees, finally becoming naturalized citizens in Canada. Dr.
Antje Petty is the Associate Director of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies at the University of Wisconsin in Madison. She connects the Institute with communities across the state and beyond through presentations, workshops…
Joan Naomi Steiner, PhD, has uncovered records relating to more than 500 people from Tepl/Teplá Monastery Villages in Western Bohemia who immigrated to Calumet County, Wisconsin, beginning in 1850. Dr. Steiner details information about…
Bill Tarkulich, BSEE, MBA, retired, is of Carpatho-Rusyn and German descent and has visited and exchanged much information with researchers, residents, and family in his ancestral villages in the easternmost borderland region of Slovakia.…
Download the 2023 CGSI Conference Booklet
- Session Summaries and Speaker Bios
- Workshop, Tour, and Entertainment Options
- Registration Information
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