Upcoming Meetings & Speakers

The Pommern Special Interest Group is excited to announce the topics and speakers for our upcoming meetings.  As always, our meetings are open and free to the public.  Please come by to say hi and listen to a great speaker!  Meetings are at 2 p.m. at the Immigrant Genealogy Library (1310-B West Magnolia Blvd., Burbank, CA)

April 6, 2014- Gena Ortega –“Advancing your History through Social Networking”

Gena Philibert Ortega holds a Master’s degree in Interdisciplinary Studies (Psychology and Women’s Studies) and a Master’s degree in Religion. Presenting on various subjects involving genealogy, Gena has spoken to groups throughout California and in Utah as well as virtually to audiences in the United States and Europe. Gena is the author of over 100 articles published in genealogy newsletters and magazines. Her writings can also be found on her blogs, Gena’s Genealogy and Food.Family.Ephemera. She is also the author of the books, "Putting the Pieces Together" and the "Cemeteries of the Eastern Sierra" (Arcadia Publishing, 2007). Gena serves as Vice-President for the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists.

July 14, 2013 - Linda E Serna - "Genealogy as Detective Work."

Biography—Linda Serna Posted on GSG Website

I have been involved with genealogy in researching and writing family stories for 30 years. In addition, I was privileged to work as a genealogist for the PBS Genealogy Roadshow program. Currently, I am a member of the Southern California Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists (SCCAPG), the Genealogical Speakers Guild (GSG), the California State Genealogical Alliance (CSGA), the Polish Genealogical Society (PGS-CA), and the Genealogical Society of Hispanic America (GSHA-CA) as well as being Vice President of Programs for the Orange County California Genealogical Society (OCCGS).  Over the last 5 years, I've written and given several presentations on various topics for different groups in California and New Mexico, as well as teaching the Intermediate/Advanced class at my home group about twice a year.  I am always in the process of writing new presentations. My loves, in addition to public speaking, include history, writing, and traveling.  I especially like seeing how individual family stories fit in and make up the fabric of history.

October 14, 2014 - Tom Underhill - “Dead Man tell No Tales”

Tom Underhill is an Author. Graphic designer. Public speaker. Tom Underhill is the publisher and senior designer at Creative Continuum, a book design and publishing company specializing in high-quality, short-run books. During the last several years, Tom and his company produced more than 400 family history heirloom books, printed more than 9.75 million pages and scanned more than 12,000 photographs.Tom has spoken on diverse topics at regional, national and international venues. He is the lead architect for My Life Story, an initiative to find a fun and easy way to help people record their personal and family memoirs. The author of nine books, his latest book, Hypergratification: Teens, Porn and Online Addiction, helping youth survive online life is co-authored with Dr. Craig Georgianna. This comprehensive book helps teens and their parents deal with and work through the harsh reality and consequence of porn and video game addictions.