Grant Din has conducted genealogical research for over thirty-five years and consults on genealogical, historic preservation, and nonprofit projects. He served on the staff of the Angel Island Immigration Station Foundation for eight years and is currently consulting with them on a permanent exhibit about Japanese immigrants who were detained on the island (along with Germans and Italians) as “enemy aliens” during World War II. 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). His research has taken him throughout California, China, and Japan to research his and his family’s journeys. Grant holds 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 an emphasis on urban studies from Yale University. He currently serves on the boards of the California Genealogical Society, Asian and Pacific Islander Americans in Historic Preservation, Mu Films, and the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Committee of the Association of Professional Genealogists. Grant was also a part of the research team for The Six, a film about the Chinese who survived the Titanic. He has close to forty years of experience in the Bay Area non-profit sector and lives with his family in Oakland, CA.
June 2025 Course Coordinator – 2025-02 – Chinese American Genealogy: Silver Linings