2011 Family History Month Workshop

The Michigan Genealogical Council & The Archives of Michigan are pleased to present: Pamela J. Cooper Saturday, October 29, 2011 Michigan Historical Center Lansing, Michigan

Featured Speaker Pamela J. Cooper

Our Speakers

Pamela J. Cooper – Supervisor of the Archives Center & Genealogy Department for the Indian River County Main Library in Vero Beach, Florida since 1986, Pamela J Cooper is a highly regarded speaker at national and local events.  Pamela has served as a Director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Director of the Florida State Historical Society, President of the Florida State Genealogical Society, and was Co–chair of the FGS/FSGS 2003 National Conference in Orlando.  She is also recipient of the 2000 Filby Award for Genealogical Librarianship, among others.

Mark Bowden – Mark is Coordinator for Special Collections at the Detroit Public Library.  These collections include: the Burton Historical Collection, the Rare Book Collection, the E.  Azalia Hackley Collection of African Americans in the Performing Arts, the Ernie Harwell Sports Collection, and the National Automotive History Collection.  He is the immediate past President of the Detroit Society for Genealogical Research and is a member of the Michigan Archival Association and the Historical Society of Michigan.  Mark serves on the planning committee for the 2011 Michigan Local History Conference.

Shirley Hodges – Shirley has been actively doing genealogical research since 1967.  She has taught genealogy classes and seminars in the U.  S.  and Canada since 1994 and has been a guest lecturer for several college–level programs.  Her interest in sharing her love of genealogical research and her sense of humor has delighted audiences.  Shirley served as President of the Genealogical Speakers Guild from 2006–2010.  She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society and numerous state and local societies.  She became a columnist for The Global Gazette in June 2006.

David E. Irwin – A graduate of Michigan State University, David is a Professional Genealogist, Historian, Author, Speaker and Consultant with over 30 years of genealogical experience as well as training through Boston University – Certificate Program in Genealogical Research.  David assisted in contributing material for the book "Pioneering Michigan" by Eric Freedman and was featured in the Detroit News as part of Michigan's 150th Anniversary in 1987 with a story on his early Michigan Pioneer ancestor Charles Callow.

Cecile (Ceil) Wendt Jensen – Ceil is a Certified Genealogist and owner of Michigan Polonia.  Author, educator, and researcher, Cecile was born and raised in Detroit.  She is past Vice–President of the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan and is a representative to the Federation of Genealogical Societies.  A graduate of Michigan State University, Ceil spent thirty years in K–12 education where she pioneered multimedia technology integration in the classroom.  In 1998, Ceil began a transition from public education to genealogy and has become a featured international speaker.  She has conducted research in Poland at libraries, civil and diocesan archives, and in local parishes.  She is the Director of the Polonica Americana Research Institute (PARI) on the historic Polish–American campus of Orchard Lake, Michigan.

William T. Ruddock – Mr. Ruddock, a native of New York State, has described Genealogy as his avocation for almost 30 years.  He has written three family histories and a history of an Irish owned linen mill in Greenwich, New York.  He has numerous journal articles and currently serves as contributing editor of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Register.  He is currently compiling a directory of all Ruddock records found in 17th through 19th century Ireland.

Kris Rzepczynski – Currently the Michigan/Genealogy Coordinator at the Library of Michigan, Kris has worked at the Library for more than 11 years.  He holds a Masters in Library and Information Science from Wayne State University, a Master of Arts in History from Western Michigan University, and a Bachelor of Arts in History from the University of Michigan.  Kris has presented at national, state, and local conferences, including the 2011 Federation of Genealogical Societies Annual Conference, 2010 Public Library Association Annual Conference, Ohio Genealogical Society Annual Conference, Michigan Library Association Annual Conference, Historical Society of Michigan Annual Conference, and for dozens of local genealogical societies.  In addition, he is a member of the Polish Genealogical Society of Michigan, Historical Society of Michigan, Michigan Library Association, and is a Past President of the Mid-Michigan Genealogical Society.

Bobbi Schirado – Roberta "Bobbi" Schirado has served as the Editor of Michigana, the quarterly magazine of the Western Michigan Genealogical Society (WMGS), for 12 years and is the author of Rockford, the history of Rockford, Michigan.  She has been an active genealogist for over 20 years, and coordinated the WMGS Writer's Group for the past seven.  Bobbi has been a genealogical lecturer and taught writing classes.  Preserving Twentieth Century family history is her passion.  She is a graduate of Central Michigan University and a member of Federation of Genealogical Societies, the National Genealogy Society, the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Association of Photoshop Professionals, and the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors.

Cynthia (Church) Theusch – is a native of Michigan.  She was born in Alma, Michigan and later moved to Lansing where she met her husband and resided there until February 2008.  Cynthia has served as vice president and president of the Mid–Michigan Genealogical Society and worked with the Michigan Genealogical Council’s Conference Program Committee and the Death Indexing Project.  She received a Master’s Degree in Library and Information Science and a Certificate in Archival Administration from Wayne State University in December 2007.  During her study at Wayne State, Cynthia received a Student Writing Award on a reference project, a four–page pathfinder on the Civilian Conservation Corps.

Return to MGC 2011 Family History Month Workshop page.