RootsTech Innovation and Tech Forum 2026
Industry innovators gather to reveal the latest developments created to simplify your family discovery experience.
Additional Experiences
John Crockett
John Crockett leads AI and discoverability at Ancestry. He has over 20 years of experience with web technologies andmakingit easier for people to find the information they are searching for online. John has spent several years researching the profound effects of AI on society and how we can betterleveragethese technologies to accelerate our passion for family history and DNA.
John Crockett
John Crockett leads AI and discoverability at Ancestry. He has over 20 years of experience with web technologies andmakingit easier for people to find the information they are searching for online. John has spent several years researching the profound effects of AI on society and how we can betterleveragethese technologies to accelerate our passion for family history and DNA.
Uri Gonen
Uri Gonen has been working at MyHeritage since 2005 where he took on different challenges and roles in product development and product management. He has been part of the wild journey of MyHeritage from a small startup to a dominant company in the genealogy space. Among his involvement in key projects of the company, Uri was the original developer behind Family Tree Builder, and the product manager of MyHeritage’s genealogy search engine. Recently, Uri was involved in several genealogical projects such as PedigreeMap, Pedigree View, Tree Consistency Checker and several integrations with FamilySearch. Before joining MyHeritage, Uri has worked in other software startups in Israel, the United States and Canada. He now lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
Uri Gonen
Uri Gonen has been working at MyHeritage since 2005 where he took on different challenges and roles in product development and product management. He has been part of the wild journey of MyHeritage from a small startup to a dominant company in the genealogy space. Among his involvement in key projects of the company, Uri was the original developer behind Family Tree Builder, and the product manager of MyHeritage’s genealogy search engine. Recently, Uri was involved in several genealogical projects such as PedigreeMap, Pedigree View, Tree Consistency Checker and several integrations with FamilySearch. Before joining MyHeritage, Uri has worked in other software startups in Israel, the United States and Canada. He now lives and works in Toronto, Canada.
Laryn Brown
Laryn Brown joined Storied in 2021 as head of content acquisition and operations. In the following year, the team brought hundreds of millions of family history records to light, each one carefully curated for the stories that can be unlocked inside. Prior to Storied, Laryn worked 18 years in the family history industry.Working in genealogy as a profession and a hobby since the 80s, Laryn is passionate about storytelling. The threads of his own family stories include English bricklayers, Canadian homesteaders, Southern colonists, and Norwegian farmers.
Laryn Brown
Laryn Brown joined Storied in 2021 as head of content acquisition and operations. In the following year, the team brought hundreds of millions of family history records to light, each one carefully curated for the stories that can be unlocked inside. Prior to Storied, Laryn worked 18 years in the family history industry.Working in genealogy as a profession and a hobby since the 80s, Laryn is passionate about storytelling. The threads of his own family stories include English bricklayers, Canadian homesteaders, Southern colonists, and Norwegian farmers.
Marisa J. W. Humphrey
Marisa Humphrey is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and television journalist with a three-decade record of building companies at the intersection of creativity, operations, and human connection. She is the founder and CEO of LifeWeaver.ai, a platform shaped by her lifelong work in media, design, and technology.Marisa has founded and co-founded businesses across retail, manufacturing, and technology. She co-founded Real Deals, a home décor franchise with fifty locations across the United States and Canada. She founded and operated one of the largest independent furniture stores in Georgia for eighteen years, co-founded a wedding and event venue, and built Jackson and Harrison Imports into a global sourcing and logistics company.She also co-founded a home décor manufacturing operation in China that has produced products sold in major U.S. retailers for more than a decade. She founded Marisa Jill’s Boutique, which later evolved into The Fashion Attic by Marisa Jill, an online brand that built a national following of hundreds of thousands of customers and followers.Before entrepreneurship, Marisa worked as a television reporter and journalist. She held roles with CNN, Georgia Public Television’s Lawmakers, and The Moscow Guardian in Russia, developing a deep respect for story, truth, and the power of personal narrative.Marisa earned her journalism degree from Brigham Young University, with international study in Mexico and Russia. She speaks fluent Spanish and brings both analytical rigor and emotional intelligence to everything she builds. She lives in North Atlanta with her husband Jeff. They have three children. Marisa continues to create technology and businesses centered on memory, meaning, and legacy.
Marisa J. W. Humphrey
Marisa Humphrey is a serial entrepreneur, technologist, and television journalist with a three-decade record of building companies at the intersection of creativity, operations, and human connection. She is the founder and CEO of LifeWeaver.ai, a platform shaped by her lifelong work in media, design, and technology.Marisa has founded and co-founded businesses across retail, manufacturing, and technology. She co-founded Real Deals, a home décor franchise with fifty locations across the United States and Canada. She founded and operated one of the largest independent furniture stores in Georgia for eighteen years, co-founded a wedding and event venue, and built Jackson and Harrison Imports into a global sourcing and logistics company.She also co-founded a home décor manufacturing operation in China that has produced products sold in major U.S. retailers for more than a decade. She founded Marisa Jill’s Boutique, which later evolved into The Fashion Attic by Marisa Jill, an online brand that built a national following of hundreds of thousands of customers and followers.Before entrepreneurship, Marisa worked as a television reporter and journalist. She held roles with CNN, Georgia Public Television’s Lawmakers, and The Moscow Guardian in Russia, developing a deep respect for story, truth, and the power of personal narrative.Marisa earned her journalism degree from Brigham Young University, with international study in Mexico and Russia. She speaks fluent Spanish and brings both analytical rigor and emotional intelligence to everything she builds. She lives in North Atlanta with her husband Jeff. They have three children. Marisa continues to create technology and businesses centered on memory, meaning, and legacy.
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