Speaker Profiles: Gwen Myers and Cat Nielsen

It's a pleasure to welcome Gwen Myers and Cat Nielsen as speakers at Family History Day at the California State Archives.

Gwen Strong-Myers was born, raised, married and raised her family in the South Bay area of California.  She is a second generation Californian – her father’s family arrived in 1890. She received her BS in Nursing at UCLA.

Gwen's interest in genealogy, unbeknownst to her at the time, began when an aunt asked her six other Swanson siblings to write a short history of each of their families.  Her aunt wrote about the early days living in Aurora/Homestead, WI before the family moved to Kingsburg, CA. 

After moving to Roseville in 1999, Gwen started attending the Sun City Roseville Genealogy meetings and became fascinated with her and her husband’s family histories.  She became the Genealogical and Historical Council of Sacramento Valley representative for the group and participated in the organization of the 2004 National Genealogical Society (NGS) Conference held in Sacramento.  She has since joined the Roseville Genealogical Society.  Gwen is now the president of the Genealogical and Historical Council of Sacramento Valley where she also represents the Sun City Roseville group and the Roseville Genealogical Society.

Cat Nielsen's  interest in genealogy began in 1970 when she met a branch of her Danish family that was not supposed to exist. Cat has a BA in Geology, an MBA in Marketing and Science and Technology Management, and a Project Management Professional certification. She took advantage of her extensive business travel throughout the U.S. and Europe to continue her genealogy and family history research. Cat is past president of the Contra Costa County Genealogical Society and a member of NGS, California Genealogical Society, several other local societies and the Association of Professional Genealogists.  She is currently webmaster for the California State Genealogical Alliance website and blog.

Gwen Myers and Cat Nielsen will be co-presenting Genealogy Research is As Close as Your Local Genealogy Society.  This presentation will introduce the attendee to the many resources found at local genealogy societies throughout the state and nation.  The benefits of belonging to a local society are numerous and will be discussed.  Societies located in the Sacramento and Northern California area will be explored.

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Send your I'LL BE THERE! email to fhdmailbox@gmail.com to pre-register and reserve a Class Syllabus.  Thank you.
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posted by Denise H. Richmond