RootsTech 2018 Announces Lineup of Keynote Speakers

RootsTech 2018 is almost upon us. If you haven’t registered yet, you best do it today. The cost is $219. Click on this link for more information and to register. Following is a press release I got from RootsTech about a week ago.

RootsTech 2018 SALT LAKE CITY, UTAH (January 31, 2018), RootsTech 2018, the world’s largest family history conference hosted by FamilySearch International, announced its full lineup of keynote speakers, including Brandon Stanton, Scott Hamilton, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., and Natalia Lafourcade. Fueled by the popularity of DNA genealogy, social platforms, and related mobile apps, RootsTech had over 50,000 in-person and online attendees in 2017. The conference is held in Salt Lake City, Utah, February 28 through March 3, and select content is broadcast live daily online.

RootsTech 2018 kicks off Wednesday, February 28, with the latest in DNA genealogy classes and other popular topics and a keynote by Steve Rockwood, CEO of FamilySearch International. Brandon Stanton, a world-renowned photographer and storyteller, will then take the stage March 1 to share his remarkable gift of photographing and sharing people’s stories on his website, Humans of New York. Stanton’s art focuses on everyday people—illustrating that every life has an important story. The website and associated Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram posts led to his two New York Times bestselling books.

Keynote Speakers
Scott Hamilton, hailed as one of the greatest male figure skaters of all time, will address the crowd on Friday, March 2. His skating prowess won Hamilton an Olympic Gold Medal, World and US Championships, and induction into both the United States Olympic and World Figure Skating Halls of Fame. Hamilton is a cancer survivor, career TV broadcaster, author, motivational speaker, and—most importantly to him—husband and father.

Saturday, March 3, Henry Louis Gates, Jr., will share his experiences in documenting genealogical and anthropological finds on film and African-American research. Gates is perhaps best known for his current role as host of Finding Your Roots, his groundbreaking genealogy series on PBS. This Emmy Award-winning filmmaker has created 18 documentaries, PBS productions, African American Lives 1 and 2, and documents the lineage of more than a dozen African Americans using genealogy and DNA; Faces of America, a four-part genealogical series, explores family histories of twelve diverse North Americans; and his six-part, The African Americans: Many Rivers to Cross, won multiple prestigious awards.

Natalia Lafourcade, internationally recognized singer, songwriter, and one of the most successful singers in the Latin America pop rock genre, will also keynote on Saturday, March 3. She is perhaps most known recently as the voice in the closing credits of the hit Disney movie Coco singing the popular song “Remember Me.” Lafourcade, who has captured hearts all over Mexico and in countries around the world, will share her musical talent and love for family on the RootsTech stage.

Classes
RootsTech 2018 offers more than 300 classes and activities for families and individuals with varying interests and skillsets. Select classes will be broadcast live. Learn more or register at RootsTech.org.

About Leland Meitzler

Leland K. Meitzler founded Heritage Quest in 1985, and has worked as Managing Editor of both Heritage Quest Magazine and The Genealogical Helper. He currently operates Family Roots Publishing Company (www.FamilyRootsPublishing.com), writes daily at GenealogyBlog.com, writes the weekly Genealogy Newsline, conducts the annual Salt Lake Christmas Tour to the Family History Library, and speaks nationally, having given over 2000 lectures since 1983.

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