CAGGNI 



GeneaQuest 2026 Speaker Bios

Tentative Information Subject to Change ...

Please check back in early March for the confirmed lineup.

The conference speakers' bios and websites are available below. Please consider contacting these speakers to discuss potential future presentations for your organization's events.

Listed alphabetically by last name:

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Marty Acks

Marty Acks is an amateur genealogist and historian. He has been researching his family history since 1999, after catching the bug from his mom and dad. He volunteers at WikiTree, where he contributes to the global family tree, leads one-name studies for the Porterfield and Lenover surnames, and serves as a WikiTree Ambassador. Marty is the Treasurer of CAGGNI and the President of the Downers Grove Historical Society.

Marty Acks

Tina Beaird

tamarackgenealogy.com

Tina Beaird, MLS is owner of Tamarack Genealogy and is also a Genealogy/Local History Librarian at the Plainfield Public Library in Plainfield, IL. Tina lectures extensively on topics including genealogical methodology, military research, and archival preservation. She is a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild as well as First Vice President of the Illinois State Genealogical Society and Board Secretary/Director for the Oswego Heritage Association. She volunteers her time with several historical and genealogical societies across Illinois. Tina has provided research assistance for nearly twenty years and has been researching her family's history, as time permits, for over thirty years. She is a rabid baseball fan and she and her family have visited 26 out of 30 Major League Ballparks across the U.S.

Tina Beaird

Caron Primas Brennan

yourcousincaron.com

Caron Primas Brennan loves history, biography, puzzles, and a good mystery, which makes her perfectly suited to genealogy research! She belongs to several local and regional genealogy groups as well as being a member of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and a Professional Member of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She has been teaching at the Newberry Library in Chicago and speaking at local libraries and genealogical societies for over ten years with consistently excellent feedback.


Caron Brennan

Vicki Ruthe Hahn

statelinegenealogyclub.wordpress.com

Vicki Ruthe Hahn, MLS is the owner of Stateline Genealogy Club, LLC, is a Retired Librarian with a BA and MLIS from University of Illinois. An experienced, regional Genealogy Presenter and Consultant, she founded the Beloit Public Library “Stateline Genealogy Club” in 2012, and created the Stateline Genealogy Club Blog in 2015. She has a background in history, anthropology, clothing history, research, writing, and teaching. Vicki sorts out mysteries, rediscovers histories, weaves stories, & helps people with local history and their family genealogy; specializing from Central Illinois to Central Wisconsin.


Suzanne Hoffman

Suzanne Hoffman, as the Genealogy Maven, is the current President of the Association of Professional Genealogists and Secretary of the Illinois State Genealogical Society. She focuses on Illinois settlement and Eastern European migration. She has spent more than 25 years investigating her Boston, MA heritage as well as her Lithuanian and Belorussian ancestors. She is a professional Forensic Genealogist and volunteers at the Wilmette FamilySearch Center in her spare time.

Suzanne Hoffman

Debra Dudek

debradudek.com

Debra M. Dudek, MSc is the Adult and Teen Services Manager at the Fountaindale Public Library in Bolingbrook, IL. She holds a post graduate certificate in Genealogical, Palaeographic & Heraldic Studies from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.  Ms. Dudek is the Book Review Editor of the Illinois State Genealogical Society, an executive board member of the Illinois State Historical Society, website coordinator for the Chicago Chapter NSDAR, and is the author of the World War I Research Guide: Tracing American Military and Non-Combatant Ancestors.

Debra Dudek

Eric Vavra

sites.google.com/view/vavra-genealogy/

Eric Vavra, MBA has combined his interest in technology and passion for solving the mysteries of family history to become an avid Genealogist. Eric uses both traditional research techniques and the latest technology to discover and explore family roots. He leverages skills from his professional information technology consulting career with over 25 years of experience in diverse global roles across project management, business strategy, data analysis, and application development to enhance and accelerate his approach to genealogy. His versatility, curiosity, and commitment to lifelong learning drive his genealogical work. Valuing collaboration and knowledge sharing, his goal is to help others advance their genealogy journeys.


Eric Vavra


Bill Wheeler

Bill Wheeler


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