Grant Din has conducted genealogical and historical research for over thirty-five years and currently consults on genealogical and historical projects. He served on the staff of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation for eight years and co-curated its exhibit, “Taken From Their Families,” about Japanese immigrants who were detained on the island as “enemy aliens” during World War II. He is the lead author of the Chinese American Historic Context Statement for the San Francisco Department of City Planning and was a part of the research team for The Six, a film about the Chinese who survived the Titanic. Starting July of 2026, Grant has volunteered as communications co-chair for Save Our National Archives, which has worked to prevent the closures of the Chicago and San Francisco branches of the National Archives and Records Administration.

Grant’s interest in genealogy started at a wedding reception in his youth, where a relative showed him a page from a family tree showing he is in the 36th generation of the Gong family (he’s also a 24th generation Owyang).

Grant has a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University, an M.A. in public policy analysis from Claremont Graduate University, and a B.A. in sociology with emphasis on urban studies from Yale University, and has traveled throughout the U.S., China, and Japan for his research. He served for three terms on the board of the California Genealogical Society, has close to forty years of experience in the Bay Area non-profit sector, and lives with his family in Oakland, CA.

June 2027 Instructor – 2027-08 Inclusive Genealogy: Navigating Complex Family Trees