GRIP is more than just institute courses. In June, during GRIP Virtual week we offer four evening presentations. These FREE presentations are open to everyone. Learn from experts from the comfort of your home! All presentations begin at 7:00pm Eastern. Zoom links will be provided to those who are pre-registered (A free Zoom account is required for registration).
We are excited to announce that this year, GRIP Virtual will include presentations by Lynn Turner, Luis Rivera, Terri Ward, and Tami Osmer Mize. To join us, simply use the zoom registration link and sign-up for one or all the presentations. Everyone is welcome!
Registration Links
Monday, June 22nd. To register: https://tinyurl.com/2026GRIPMon
Tuesday, June 23rd. To register: https://tinyurl.com/2026GRIPTues
Wednesday, June 24th. To register: https://tinyurl.com/2026GRIPWed
Thursday, June 25th: To register: https://tinyurl.com/2026GRIPThur
Presentations
We are very excited about this year’s presentations and we think you will be too.
Monday, June 22nd.
Lynn Turner from FamilySearch presents, “Celebrating 40 Years with the FamilySearch Library: A Look Into the Past and A Glimpse Into the Future.”
Tuesday, June 23rd.
Luis Rivera presents, “A Journey Across the Caribbean: Exploring Julienne Malvina Lautin’s Origins.” At the age of four, Julienne Malvina became one of about 250,000 people to receive freedom from French colonial powers in 1848. This freedom allowed her the possibility to later cross the Caribbean sea and settle on the island of Puerto Rico. Julienne’s identity was almost lost to history; however, genealogy recuperated her story six generations later. Through this case study, we will explore the life of Julienne Malvina Lautin by using various records (civil, religious, notarial, and others) to learn more about her origins and her journey across the Caribbean.
Luis Ariel Rivera, a native of the Bronx, New York, has been researching his family’s roots since 2004. His expertise lies in Puerto Rican research, focusing on his family’s Taíno, Spanish, and African roots on the island, while also researching his Afro-French roots in Martinique and Guadeloupe. He is a member of various genealogical organizations connected to his ancestry as well as the National Genealogical Society (NGS) and the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG). As a former second language educator, Luis continues to enjoy finding connections to other languages and cultures through the stories of his ancestors’ lives. Currently, Luis works as an Advanced Researcher on the International Team at Legacy Tree Genealogists.
Wednesday, June 24th.
Terri Ward presents: “Georgia at the Crossroads: 250 Years of Conflict, Kinship, and Courage”
Georgia’s layered and often overlooked history offers an essential lens for understanding the people who shaped the United States. This presentation explores Georgia as a cultural crossroads, where African, Indigenous, and European communities
collided, converged, resisted, and created family lines that continue into the present. Through powerful case studies, including the early Trustee ban on slavery, the Highland Scots and their Indigenous alliances, Quash Dolly at the Siege of Savannah, the Igbo Landing resistance, the survivors of the illegal Wanderer voyage, and the extraordinary freedom struggle of Betsy Gibson, we uncover the genealogical echoes of conflict, kinship, and courage.
Blending narrative history with practical methodology, this session demonstrates how genealogists can navigate complex records, analyze multi-racial and mixed-status families, interpret silences in the archive, and follow ancestors across shifting legal and cultural landscapes. Participants will leave with tools, deeper context for Georgia research, and a richer understanding of how inclusive genealogical storytelling helps fulfill the promise of America 250; to illuminate the whole of our shared past.
Terri Ward is a genealogist, educator, and founder of The Front Porch Genealogist, a platform that reclaims African American family history through collaboration, truth-telling, storytelling, and soul. Specializing in Southern and Coastal Georgia research, she helps descendants of both the enslaved and the enslavers trace their roots, confront historical erasure, and connect their lived experiences to legacy. Her work bridges oral history, archival research, and cultural memory; especially for communities silenced by injustice. As a “Lineage Liberator,” Terri believes that every ancestor has a right to be remembered with dignity, and she equips others to do the same. Terri has been a featured speaker at AAHGS National Conferences (2025, 2024, and 2023), Georgia Genealogical Society, Georgia Historical Society, Ashantilly Center, Ancestor’s Footprints Podcast, and for Community Heritage and Reunion Events. She’s also the recipient of the 2024 IGHR Frazine K. Taylor Scholarship, the 2024 MAAGI Scholarship, and a member of the Inaugural Class of the 2025 NGS James Worris Moore Leadership Academy. She served on the 2023-2025 Board of Directors for the Georgia Genealogical Society and currently serves as the Publicity Director for the Genealogical Speakers Guild. She has a B.A. in Foreign Language, minoring in Latin American Studies.
Thursday, June 25th
Tami Osmer Mize presents: ConferenceKeeper: Discovering Genealogical Education and Opportunities
Discover the many resources available for genealogists on ConferenceKeeper.org — in addition to the thousands of genealogy events on the calendar.
Tami Osmer Mize is the creator of ConferenceKeeper.org and a longtime genealogist, lecturer, and designer. She helps family historians find genealogy events, education, and opportunities from across the community
Join Us!
We look forward to seeing you at GRIP Virtual!
