David E. Rencher, AG ® , CG ® , FUGA, FIGRS, FNGS, is employed as the Chief Genealogical Officer for FamilySearch. A professional genealogist since 1977, he is one of the rare few who have earned both credentials: Accredited Genealogist ®  with ICAPGen in Ireland research (1981) and Certified Genealogist ®  with the Board for Certification of Genealogists (2006). He is the Irish course coordinator and instructor for the GRIP Genealogy Institute and the Institute of Genealogical and Historical Research. He graduated from Brigham Young University in 1980 with a BA in Family and Local History.

He is president of the National Genealogical Society and past president of the Federation of Genealogical Societies and the Utah Genealogical Association. He is a fellow of the Utah Genealogical Association, the Irish Genealogical Research Society, London and the National Genealogical Society. He is the past chair of the joint National Genealogical Society and International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies committee for the Record Preservation and Access Coalition; he serves as a counselor for the New England Historic Genealogical Society.

J. H. (“Jay”) Fonkert, CG, specializes in 19 th -century Kentucky and Midwest family history research. His passions are family migrations and historical geography. When time permits, he dabbles in Dutch, English, and Scandinavian genealogy.

He was Coordinator for the Midwest course for the 2024 NGS GRIP Institute, and he has taught in the Practicum and the Great Plains courses at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG). He has lectured at NGS and FGS conferences, as well as at the Ohio Genealogical Society’s annual conference, the Southern California Jamboree, GRIP, and SLIG, and for genealogy societies in eleven states and provinces.

Jay served fifteen years as Editor of Generations (formerly Minnesota Genealogist) and he has published five articles in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. His articles have also appeared in NGS Magazine, the APG Quarterly, Crossroads, Bluegrass Roots, Family Chronicle, The Septs, and Generations.

Jay has been a ProGen and GenProof mentor. He is a former trustee of the BCG Education Fund and former APG director. He is a two-time past president of the Minnesota Genealogical Society. He has served many years on the MGS Education Committee and was the prime mover behind the creation of the North Star Genealogy Conference in 2008.