Nordic Research

Abigail Gatherum is a Family History student at Brigham Young University with a minor in Scandinavian Studies. She specializes in Scandinavian and German family history and has enjoyed doing genealogical research for many years.

Dana serves as the Executive Director of the Norwegian American Genealogical Center in Madison, Wisconsin. She began her family history journey as a seventh grader and quickly developed a special love of her Norwegian roots. She attended the University of Wisconsin-Madison where she earned a degree in Scandinavian Studies. Her passion for her Norwegian heritage has led her to membership in many Norwegian cultural organizations such as Sons of Norway, as well as leadership roles with historical and genealogical organizations. She has presented RootsTech, the annual meetings for the Minnesota, Wisconsin, and Illinois State Genealogical Societies, Wisconsin State Historical Society, the Family History Research Workshop in Fargo, ND, as well as numerous local libraries and genealogical societies. She also presents regularly at many large Norwegian cultural events.

Sarah Reed is Assistant Professor of History at Brigham Young University. She joined the department in fall 2018 after completing a PhD in German with a minor in Women’s Studies at the University of Wisconsin–Madison. At BYU, she serves in the family history, history, and women's studies programs and teaches classes on German, Scandinavian, women's and immigration history and Scandinavian and German family history and paleography.

Forrest is a passionate professional genealogist with a love of Nordic family history. For more than seven years, he has been growing his professional skills: including Nordic, DNA, and Forensic research. The highlights of his career include a bachelor's degree in Family History-Genealogy from Brigham Young University, an internship at the Norwegian Emigration Museum in Norway, an internship with the Chester Fritz Library in Fargo, ND, and three years of heir search experience with American Research Bureau.

Originally from Port Angeles, Washington, Forrest currently lives in Utah with his wife and three children. Together they enjoy swimming, crafting, making yummy food, and spending time with their many cousins.

Geoffrey Fröberg Morris AG® has been doing Swedish genealogical research for over 35 years. He has been employed for 25 years at the Family History Library in Salt Lake City, Utah as a Nordic research specialist. Among his work assignments, Geoff has helped thousands of people search for their Swedish ancestors, engaged in many archival visits in Sweden, authored hundreds of pages into the FamilySearch Wiki and routinely presents at conferences. He is the author of the book, A Practical Guide to Swedish Church Records for Genealogy and Family History, which was published in 2020.

Heidi Kuosmanen is a volunteer for FamilySearch e.g. in Places team since 2018 and in FamilySearch Support in Nordic and Baltic area since 2021. She has been a family history instructor and a teacher for several years. Heidi is also a professional genealogist in her own company in Finland.

Jenny Hansen is a professional genealogist specializing in Scandinavian research. She holds a bachelor’s degree in Family History and Genealogy from Brigham Young University and has been an Accredited Genealogist® in Danish research since 1999. In 2023, she earned the Accredited Genealogist Lecturer™ designation, demonstrating her expertise in both research and genealogical education.

As a freelance researcher and instructor, Jenny is passionate about helping others uncover their ancestral roots. She served as a commissioner for The International Commission for the Accreditation of Professional Genealogists (ICAPGen) and is currently the Director of the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG), contributing to the advancement of professional genealogical standards.

Based in Eagle, Idaho, Jenny enjoys reading, discovering historic churches and cemeteries, and spending time outdoors with her family. She shares insights and stories on her blog, MyFavoriteAncestor.com.

Kathy Meade is the North American representative for ArkivDigital AD AB, a company that offers online access to newly photographed color images of the Swedish church books and other historical records. She has been working with Swedish genealogy for more than eighteen years. Ms. Meade serves on the advisory board for the Swedish American Genealogy Research Center at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago. She volunteers at the Swedish American Museum in Chicago and the Arlington Heights Memorial Library in Arlington, Heights, Il helping patrons with their Swedish genealogical research.

Kaylee is currently a student at Brigham Young University studying Genealogy and Global Women's Studies. Though she is most interested in Scandinavian research, she also loves traveling, trying new foods, learning about interior design, and going on dates with her wonderful husband.

Liv Birgit Christensen is a Norwegian. Her education is in business administration, and she has worked in banking most of her life, honing her analytical skills. She has been interested in genealogy for more than 25 years. When she retired, she continued working with her genealogy interest. She has collaborated with DearMyrtle (the American genealogist Pat Richley-Erickson) and has participated in many of her “Mondays with Myrt” sessions on Norwegian genealogy. Liv Birgit has presented other webinars and held lectures in the United States, Great Britain and Norway. She has organized several Heritage travels for clients and do client work.
She has written in Norwegian genealogy magazines and local historical periodicals. In 2023 she published Exploring Norwegian Genealogy together with Margaret H. Strand. A guide in English on how to do Norwegian genealogy, explaining and showing how to use online sources. Liv Birgit takes an interest in her own family history and in establishing provenance of family heirlooms, identifying persons and places in photographs, and in discovering DNA proof of lineage. She has solved several DNA cases among them “father unknown.” Liv Birgit is especially interested in Oppdal, Trøndelag, the place her grandfather was born and where she has spent a lot of time in the family cottage. She is the mother of two adult children and enjoys staying in her apartment in the south of France, when possible.

Liv Marit Haakenstad is an Accredited Genealogist® (AG®) in Norwegian genealogy and an Accredited Genealogist Lecturer™ (AGL™). She also has a master’s in nonfiction writing from USN (University of South-Eastern Norway). Haakenstad started with genealogy at age 12 and has worked with it ever since. She has experience with classic genealogy, heir research, forensic genealogy, and some DNA research. She has also researched for genealogy TV shows and is a RootsTech speaker. Haakenstad also worked on a cold case for Norway's National Criminal Investigation Service (Kripos). In the Spring of 2025, Liv Marit Haakenstad was a visiting scholar at Bringham Young University in Provo, UT.

Jill Morelli, CG, CGL is a writer, lecturer and co-founder of the online Applied Genealogy Institute, providing practicum-based educational opportunities for the intermediate and advanced genealogist. In 2017, she founded the Certification Discussion Group, an online series discussing her certification journey in order to demystify the process for others.  She specializes in Scandinavian research and is constantly honing her methodological skills. She lectures nationally and has written articles for National Genealogical Society Quarterly, Swedish American Genealogist, NCGS Journal and many others. Jill is past president of the Seattle Genealogical Society, co-chair of SGS Centennial 2023, program director for the Puget Sound-APG chapter, and a member of many local and national genealogical societies.

Savannah Larson is an accredited genealogist and enthusiastic bookworm. She earned her bachelor’s degree in Family History from Brigham Young University and worked for six years on the FamilySearch Library's Nordic Research Team. She currently works at the FamilySearch Library on the United States and Canada team and spends much of her time building training for volunteers who help at the Library. When she's not unraveling family histories, Savannah enjoys sipping Dr. Pepper, spending quality time with her family, and creative writing.

Senior Officer, Team Leader (Retroactive digitization) National Archives of Finland, 2022-present

Head of Collections in the Museum Sector, 2007-2020

Master’s degree, History University of Turku, 2001