Diane Henriks, Genealogical Speaker

Topical-Engaging-Informative Lectures

Diane Henriks, also known as the “Descendant Detective” and founder of Know Who Wears the Genes in Your Family, is a passionate and seasoned Los Angeles County-based professional genealogist, investigator, speaker, and author, who specializes in descendancy and brick wall research, along with living people search and unknown parentage. Diane has worked closely with private investigators to find living people, while also assisting in background investigations, in both civil and criminal cases. She is a proud member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, the Genealogical Speakers Guild, the International Society of Genetic Genealogy, the Southern California Genealogical Society, and various genealogical interest groups. What started out as a small hobby well over a decade ago, when a hand-drawn family tree chart was given to her by her father, has since become a great obsession, and she now helps others discover and preserve who they are and where they came from!

Specialties

• Descendancy Research
• Brick Wall Research
• Living People Search
• Unknown Parentage Research

Other

• Methodology
• Genetic Genealogy/DNA 
• Family History Publishing

Current Lectures

• Finding Descendants in your Family Tree
• Publishing your Family History
• Finding Descendants in your Family Tree: A Deeper Look into Finding Living People Now
• Who Is That Mystery DNA Match?: Solving a Genetic Genealogy Brick Wall
• It's All in the Clues!
• Family Secrets
• A Closer Look at the 1850-1950 U.S. Census​ Records in Genealogy
• 1850 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1860 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1870 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1880 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1900 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1910 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1920 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1930 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1940 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• 1950 U.S. Census Deep Dive
• Filipino Genealogy: Tracing Your Filipino Roots

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In Progress Lectures

(*available to be booked now, at least 6 months in advance, for future events)

• The 6 W's in Genealogy
• Publishing Your Family History the Easy Way!
• Break Down Those Genealogy Brick Walls!
• Family Stories: Taking Them with a Grain of Salt
• A Closer Look at Genealogical Documents
• Publishing your Family History: A Walk Through
• Uncovered Roots
• Beginning Your Family History Journey: Beginning Genealogy

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Upcoming Speaking Engagements

• Williamson County Genealogical Society- Seminar 2024, Williamson County, TX
• Legacy Family Tree Webinars, MyHeritage Series; 2024

Recent/Past Speaking Engagements

• Texas State Genealogical Society Family History Conference; 2023
• Utah Genealogical Association Summit of Excellence; 2021, 2022, 2023
• Legacy Family Tree Webinars, MyHeritage Series; 2023
• Southern California Genealogical Society Lunch ‘n’ Learn; 2019, 2023
• Southern California Genealogical Society Genealogy Jamboree; 2021, 2022
• Northland Genealogy Society; 2023
• Moreno Valley Genealogical Society; 2023
• Glendora Genealogical Group; 2023
• Larimer County Genealogical Society; 2023
• Placer County Genealogical Society; 2023
• Whittier Area Genealogical Society; 2018, 2022
• Clallam County Genealogical Society; 2022
• Palm Spring Genealogical Society; 2022
• Aerospace Corporation; 2019
• Southern California Genealogical Society German Interest Group; 2017, 2018 (x2), 2023
• Pasadena Area African American Genealogical Society; 2018