Strategies for DNA Breakthroughs
October 25, 2025
Note: The speaker originally selected for the Fall Seminar (Gena Philibert-Ortega) had to cancel. We hope to re-book her for a future Seminar.
Our Speaker: Kelli Jo Bergheimer
Kelli is a writer, teacher, editor, author, and international genealogical speaker. Kelli holds a Bachelor’s in Biology, a Master’s in Education: Curriculum and Instruction, and a Master’s in Business Management. Kelli is the Director of Education for Your DNA Guide. Kelli runs a small business—Mess on the Desk, a genealogical organization company with a YouTube channel. Kelli is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists.
Session Information
- Successful Sleuthing, Not Stalking, for DNA Matches – Have you tried to figure out who some of your DNA matches are but struggle to make progress? Learn to use some free websites, newspapers, and social media to identify some of those people you don’t know in your match list.
- Ancestry Pro Tools: Increase Your DNA Analysis – Ancestry’s new Pro Tools can increase your ability to analyze your DNA matches. New filters have been added to enhance your DNA sorting. Colored dots have expanded. And the Enhanced shared matches tool is giving us another level of insight into our matches by showing us how our matches share DNA with each other. Learn strategies to apply this tool to your genetic networks.
- The Power of Ancestry Clusters and Inferred Matching – Learn how to use clusters in a strategic way to identify your DNA matches and their shared ancestral line. Ancestry’s new Cluster Tool is a powerful visual way to group matches. Broaden your genetic network for an ancestral line by including inferred matching in your analysis.
- The Tale of Two Grandfathers and an Adoption – Privacy and Ethical Concerns with DNA – Come hear privacy and ethical considerations within three DNA case studies–a case of grey adoption in the 1950s, a surprise grandfather, and a decades-long hunt for an unknown grandfather. What should you consider? How can you or should you document findings? And who’s story is it to tell?
Location & Recordings
Join Kelli live at the Dallas Public Library or online on Zoom.
- Free parking is available under the library (enter the parking garage from Wood Street).
- A link to the syllabus (in PDF format) will be provided when you register.
- The Syllabus materials will not be finalized until Sunday, October 5.
- We will not be providing a printed version at the event.
- A link (and the password required to access it) to the Session recordings page will be provided when you register.
- Recordings will be available from Sunday October 26 through Sunday November 9, 2025.
- A link to register with Zoom will be provided when you register if you prefer to participate virtually.
Schedule
Saturday October 25 (all times CT)
| 9:30 | 10:35 | Successful Sleuthing, Not Stalking, for DNA Matches |
| 10:35 | 11:00 | Break |
| 11:00 | 12:00 | Ancestry Pro Tools: Increase Your DNA Analysis |
| 12:00 | 1:00 | Lunch |
| 1:00 | 2:00 | The Power of Ancestry Clusters and Inferred Matching |
| 2:00 | 2:30 | Break |
| 2:30 | 3:30 | The Tale of Two Grandfathers and an Adoption - Privacy and Ethical Concerns with DNA |
Cost (USD)
| | By October 5 | After October 5 |
|---|---|---|
| DGS Member | $55 | $70 |
| Others | $75 | $90 |
Box Lunches will be available for $17 (must be ordered with a registration by October 21).
Refund Policy: Requests for refunds made prior to the early-bird cutoff date (October 5, 2025) will be granted (less a $10 handling fee). DGS will not issue refunds after 5:00 pm on October 5, but we will provide a syllabus (PDF) and access to the recorded lectures for two weeks after the presentation.
