SFBAJGS - Calendar of Genealogical Events

Past Programs

Tuesday, June 2, 2026 SFBAJGS Presentation ZOOM Free and everyone interested is welcome. co-sponsored with Jewish Community Library Time and Place: 6:30 pm until 7:?? pm, Pacific Time Online Program Topic: The Wanderers: A Story of Exile, Survival, and Unexpected Love in the Shadow of World War II Speaker: Daniela Gerson Daniela Gerson and her wife Talia Inlender met at a picnic in Los Angeles, unaware that 75 years earlier, their grandparents had been neighbors in a small Polish town. The Gersons and the Inlenders would go on parallel odysseys of 5,000 miles to survive the Holocaust—one that would, after a deceitful loyalty test from Stalin, put them on cattle cars to a Soviet Gulag, years in limbo in Central Asia, and would end, after a decade on the run, with new lives built on secrets and lies. As Daniela uncovered more, she realized that their grandparents shared this escape path in the Soviet Union with most Polish Jews who survived—a group that is almost entirely absent from popular understanding of World War II. Daniela Gerson is an associate professor of journalism at California State University, Northridge and an award-winning immigration reporter. An editor-at-large at Zócalo Public Square, she previously co-founded Migratory Notes, and worked at the Los Angeles Times and the New York Sun. This program is made possible, in part, by Jane and Michael Rice. Register for this meeting.

Sunday, June 14, 2026 SFBAJGS Presentation ZOOM Free and everyone interested is welcome. Time and Place: 1:00 pm until 2:30 pm, Pacific Time At Your Home Topic: Help! I Got My DNA Results and I'm Confused Speaker: Gil Bardige Designed for beginners, and intermediates and those who have received autosomal DNA results and feel overwhelmed. Teaches how to organize a match list, prioritize "tree-friendly" matches using the Average Segment Method (AScM), and manage expectations—especially in endogamous populations. Attendees leave with a clear process for turning a confusing match list into an actionable research plan. NOTE: Plan to budget at least 90 minutes for this talk and Q&A. Gil Bardige has nearly 20 years of experience in genetic genealogy, specializing in endogamy and Jewish DNA research. He has spoken at dozens of local events, international webinars, and conferences—including nine IAJGS conferences, the Center for Jewish History, JewishGen (both on YouTube), and NGS 2026. Gil is Administrator of three Y-DNA projects at Family Tree DNA, Chair of the Genealogy Committee of the Columbus Jewish Historical Society, and co-hosts live Genetic Genealogy Q&A sessions at JGS Illinois and JGS Toronto. He serves on the IAJGS Conference Strategic Planning Committee and manages the Conference Mentoring Programs. Gil is a member of APG (Association of Professional Genealogists). People have said of his presentations: “Thank you, Gil, I am no longer confused!” Register for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You do not have to have a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meeting. You will be prompted to download the software, once you have clicked on the link that you have been provided. You may also wish to create an account, but that is not required to participate in a Zoom meeting.

Monday, July 20, 2026 SFBAJGS Presentation ZOOM Free and everyone interested is welcome. Time and Place: 4:30 pm until 6:00 pm, Pacific Time At Your Home Topic: Creating a Successful Personal Genealogy Website: Considerations and Decisions Speaker: Sarah Lee Meyer The presentation will cover a gamut of topics from Purpose and Target market to the content needed, hosting, whether to do it yourself or hire it out, and the appearance of site. This does not include having a tree on Ancestry , My Heritage or Family Search. It will also include a tour of some of the SFBAGS personal genealogy websites (non-professional). Sarah Lee Meyer began doing genealogy in 1972 when her mother sent her a copy of a 14 page story about the family roots that her Zeidi had dictated in Yiddish and was typed in English by her mother’s brother. She has had a personal genealogy website for over 20 years. Her current website is https://www.sarahsgenies.com. Register for this meeting. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting. You do not have to have a Zoom account to attend a Zoom meeting. You will be prompted to download the software, once you have clicked on the link that you have been provided. You may also wish to create an account, but that is not required to participate in a Zoom meeting.

Que sera sera

 

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