Diana Elder, AG, and Nicole Dyer, mother-daughter professional genealogists, are the co-authors of Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and hosts of the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast. With Robin Wirthlin, they co-authored Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. Read more about them and their team of researchers below. Contact us here.
Diana Elder, AG, AGL
Hi, I’m Diana. I’m an Accredited Genealogist professional, lecturer, and author. I have twenty-one years of research experience and hold credentials for genealogy research and lecturing through the International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen). My area of expertise is the United States Gulf South Region, including Alabama, Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Texas.
I graduated from Brigham Young University Magna Cum Laude with a Bachelor’s degree in Education. A lifelong learner and educator, I combine my passion for teaching and genealogy in numerous ways. I wrote the bestselling book Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and co-authored the companion volume, Research Like a Pro with DNA: A Genealogist’s Guide to Finding and Confirming Ancestors with DNA Evidence. Knowing that we learn best by doing, I created the Research Like a Pro study group and e-Course to help researchers put the RLP process into practice. I write regular research tips for FamilyLocket and host the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast with Nicole.
As the presentation specialist for ICAPGen, I work with a team of AGs to educate genealogists interested in the accreditation process. I speak regularly at conferences about Accreditation and have recorded several videos for the ICAPGen YouTube channel.
I am a member of the National Genealogical Society, the Utah Genealogical Society, and the Association of Professional Genealogists. I specialize in U.S. and DNA research, genealogy consulting & coaching. My proximity to the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City gives me access to its fabulous record collections. I like nothing more than to help my clients solve their family history mysteries!
Nicole Elder Dyer
Hello, I am Nicole Dyer, a professional genealogist specializing in research in the Southern United States. I host the Research Like a Pro Genealogy Podcast with Diana and am a co-author of Research Like a Pro: A Genealogist’s Guide and Research Like a Pro with DNA. I enjoy working as an instructor for the Research Like a Pro study group and online course, as well as the Research Like a Pro with DNA Study group. I speak at local and national genealogical conferences as well as genealogical institutes.
I created Family Locket in 2015 when I was volunteering as a family history consultant in my local area. I began teaching a community family history class each week and realized that I love helping people become better researchers. I am a member of the Pima County Genealogy Society, Association of Professional Genealogists, National Genealogy Society, and Georgia Genealogical Society. My research experience includes North and South Carolina, Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, Georgia, Texas, and England.
I studied History Teaching at Brigham Young University and am a former middle school history teacher. I am privileged to consult with local middle school classes occasionally during units about family history. In 2017-2018 I volunteered at the Tucson Family History Center, teaching family history storytime for preschoolers. I am a member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.
I have completed the following genealogical study programs: Mastering Genealogical Proof Study Group, the Certification Discussion Group, an NGSQ Study Group, the ProGen Study Group, and the following courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG): Intermediate Foundations, Introduction to Genetic Genealogy, Advanced Methods, All DNA Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum, and Meeting Standards Using DNA Evidence – Research Strategies. I have also completed the following course at the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research (IGHR): DNA as Genealogical Evidence (Advanced).
Family Locket Researchers
Alice Childs, AG
Jessica Taylor Morgan, AG
Jessica Taylor Morgan is an Accredited Genealogist® (ICAPGen) who loves helping people discover their past. She worked as a professional genealogist at Ancestry for nine years, helping both clients and Ancestry’s Public Relations team. She provided genealogy research for shows such as “Who Do You Think You Are?”, “Long Lost Family,” and “A New Leaf,” as well as the award-winning Sundance film “Railroad Ties.” A graduate in Medieval History, she specializes in U.K., Irish, Scottish, U.S., and immigration research. She is also a professional writer and loves creating stories that help people engage and explore their family tree.
Heidi Mathis
Heidi Mathis is a graduate of the Research Like a Pro with DNA and Research Like a Pro study groups. She has a Bachelor of Science in Biochemistry, with a minor in English Literature from California Polytechnic State University. Her areas of genealogical research are German, Irish, Dutch, and Swiss Americans mostly in the Midwest states and in those countries of origin. She loves using genealogical research as an excuse to read as much history as possible.
Allison Kotter
Allison Kotter is a professional genealogist pursuing accreditation through ICAPGen in the Southeast United States. Her professional genealogy skills and processes have been honed through a variety of genealogical education including the Research Like a Pro Study Group, Research Like a Pro with DNA Study Group, the ICAPGen Level 1 Study Group, the Becoming An Accredited Genealogist Professional SLIG course, multiple Family History courses as BYU, and work as an heir investigator for Lauth Investigations. She has a Bachelor’s degree from Brigham Young University in psychology with a minor in statistics. She loves using the research skills she learned in college to solve family mysteries. When she is not doing genealogy, she is focused on spending as much time with her three children as possible.
Yvonne Fenster, RN, PhD
Yvonne is a professional genealogist pursuing accreditation through ICAPGen in the United States Upper South region, which includes the states of Virginia, West Virginia, Tennessee, Kentucky, and North Carolina. She has a particular interest in African and Native American research and the use of DNA to break through brick walls. Yvonne is a graduate of the Research Like a Pro and Research Like a Pro with DNA study groups and has subsequently served as a mentor for both study groups. She has an Associate of Nursing from Onondaga Community College, a Bachelor of Science in Biology from Bridgewater State College, a Doctorate of Philosophy in Neuroscience and Physiology from SUNY Upstate at Syracuse, and Post-Doctoral training at Cornell University in Ithaca. Yvonne enjoys playing with her grandchildren, cutting fabric for a prolific quilting mother, and spending time with her husband. She has a rare medical condition that requires frequent treatment. Family Locket will donate a portion of the proceeds from Yvonne’s work to two organizations that help defray her medical costs: Angels Flight East and Host For Hospitals in Philadelphia.
Michelle Mickelson, AG
Michelle is a professional genealogist helping family historians find answers to their toughest genealogy questions. She is currently pursuing accreditation through ICAPGen, specializing in the United States Southwest Region, which includes Arizona, California, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Utah. Michelle uses that expertise to assist families, particularly in the area of Colonial Spanish ancestry. By using Family Locket’s proven research methods in every project, Michelle has been able to put the genealogy certifications she earned through SLIG, ICAGen, RLP study groups, and mentoring to good use. Throughout certification, she spent significant time researching Spanish church records from the Alta-California Missions. Michelle may spend her days on a laptop, but it’s the satisfaction of connecting present families to their past that gets her out of bed in the morning. When she’s not researching, Michelle enjoys backyard barbeques with family, organizing home spaces, and watching documentaries.
David Grawrock, CG
David’s first foray into genealogy came in the last century when, as a teenager, he tried to find his grandfather’s Oslo, Norway, birth certificate. From there, David worked on both his lines and his wife’s lines in New Amsterdam, Revolutionary New Jersey and Pennsylvania, the Southern States of Alabama, Arkansas, and South Carolina, Southern England, Northeastern England, Norway, Ireland, Germany, and the Netherlands. Prior to becoming a Certified Genealogist, David was a computer security architect traveling the world creating technical solutions, teaching about those solutions, teaching security in general, and writing and editing international standards. Retired from the technical world, David traded his technical problem skillset with a genealogical skillset focusing on publishing research papers and teaching genealogical techniques. David loves to help others discover the thrill and excitement when finding a new ancestor. When David is not working on genealogy, he hikes the Southern Utah desert and mountains, takes pictures, and visits family when he can.
Emma Lowe
Emma Lowe is a professional genealogist pursuing a Master’s degree in Genealogical, Paleographic, and Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Family History with an emphasis in German-American immigrant research from Brigham Young University, where she also minored in Korean and Mathematics. She also enjoys British, African-American, and DNA research. In her free time, Emma enjoys volunteering as an independent genealogy consultant for the ConnectMyVariant project using her family history expertise to help reduce the risk of inherited cancer. When she is not doing family history research, Emma likes hiking, knitting, playing badminton, and spending time with her family.
Jill Nock, AG
Jill Nock is an Accredited Genealogist® professional specializing in research in the United States Upper South region, which covers Kentucky, North Carolina, Tennessee, Virginia, and West Virginia. She also works on DNA cases involving adoption and misattributed parentage, as well as applications for lineage societies. Jill started researching her family tree in 1977, shortly after watching the television series Roots.
Jill holds a Bachelor of Applied Science degree with an emphasis in Accounting from Boise State University. Her genealogy education includes ProGen Study Group and courses at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP): Fundamentals of Forensic Genealogy and Advanced DNA Evidence. When not researching, Jill enjoys being in the mountains of Idaho with her husband, John, and fur baby Gabby.
Melanie Whitt, MSc, QG
Melanie Whitt is a professional genealogist who works as a contractor for Family Locket Genealogists and private clients. She earned a Master of Science with Distinction in Genealogical, Paleographic, and Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde. She is accredited as a Qualified Genealogist with the Register of Qualified Genealogists in the UK.
As a product of recent immigration to the US, her work has a strong international focus in France, Sweden, Germany, and the British Isles, in addition to extensive practice in the Great Lakes and Northwest regions of the US. Melanie speaks French and is genealogically literate in Swedish and German. She regularly incorporates DNA analysis in her research and has solved biological family identity cases for clients. She is proficient in creating and analyzing DNA network graphs to identify ancestors. Melanie is a graduate of both Research Like a Pro and Research Like a Pro with DNA study groups, serving as a mentor for the latter. She has presented DNA case studies for multiple genealogical organizations. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists and the National Genealogical Society. When she’s not researching, Melanie enjoys spending time with her family, eating out, traveling, and playing pickleball.
Torhild Shirley, AG
Torhild Shirley is a native Norwegian, an Accredited Genealogist® professional, and the owner of ScandinavianFamily.com. She has an associate’s degree in technical translation from the University of Agder in Norway and an associate’s degree in Family History Research from Brigham Young University – Idaho. Torhild has over 30 years of research experience. She speaks five languages and is fluent in all Scandinavian languages. In addition to research, Torhild is comfortable with the old Gothic handwriting used in Scandinavian documents and can transcribe and translate documents as needed. She has translated many letters from “Family in the old country,” journals, patriarchal blessings, will and probate documents, land records, etc. Torhild values honesty and hard work and will always do her best to meet and exceed a client’s expectations. When not engrossed in research or translation, she enjoys gardening, camping, fishing, snowboarding, and spending time with her large family.