Laura has been providing educational opportunities for genealogists for almost twenty years. As the education chair for the Illinois State Genealogical Society, Laura crafted annual programing. This included the scheduling speakers for the webinar series as well as developing new small group educational programs.

At an early age, photos sparked Laura’s interest in her own family’s history. This quickly expanded to 3-D artifacts. After questioning her grandmother about items, Laura would record the information by writing on the back of a photo or the underside of furniture. This interest led Laura to design her undergraduate degree in Historic Preservation at the University of Illinois. As her own family archive grew, Laura continued to research how to care for items such as Christmas ornaments, clothing, tools, and furniture. To enhance her skills, Laura completed Denise May Levenick’s “Family Archiving: Heirlooms in the Digital Age” at the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh in 2018.

Laura also works as a professional genealogist offering presentations and workshops. Another focus of her work is assisting with organizing and digitizing family archives. Laura has written several books and articles using material from her family archive. She is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the National Genealogical Society, as well as several local genealogical and historical societies.