Portfolio

Education:

  • M.S.L.S., Library Science – University of Kentucky – Focus: Special Collections/Archives
  • B.A., History – University of Kentucky, magna cum laude

Work:

  • National Society of the Sons of the American Revolution: Louisville, KY 2022-present Director of the National SAR Genealogical Research Library & Archives, located inside the SAR National Headquarters.
  • Kentucky Historical Society: Frankfort, KY, 2011-2022
    Program Administrator II: Head of Library and Archives, Editor of Kentucky Ancestors Online, Producer/Research Coordinator and On-Air Talent, Kentucky Ancestors TV Show
  • Fincastle Designs, 2011-2018, Part-Time  
    Owner/DBA: Freelance research/marketing/social media/public relations business
  • Pastology, LLC: Acton, MA, 2009-present, Part-Time (In Development)
    President/Co-Founder/Marketing Coordinator
  • University of Kentucky Libraries: Lexington, KY, 2000-2011
    Interlibrary Loan – Lending Manager
  • Bourbon County Schools: Paris, KY, 1993-2000
    Library paraprofessional/Substitute Librarian/Technology Coordinator

Book Chapters:

Genealogy and the Librarian: Perspectives on Research, Instruction, Outreach and Management (McFarland Publishers) – 2018 – Editors: Vera Gubnitskaia & Carol Smallwood. Forward by: D. Joshua Taylor. Available on Amazon! 

  • Chapter: Genealogy Literacy: Helping Patrons Build Stable Trees through Information Literacy Standards
  • Chapter: Crowdsourcing Genealogy with Tea and Sympathy: Outreach Approaches that Instruct and Engage

Discovering Our Past (Hopewell Museum Education Committee) 1999

  • Chapter: Oral History

Article Highlights:

  • “Project Management Software”, FGS Forum, Vol. 29, Num. 4, Winter 2017
  • “Brick by Brick: Building Your Brick Wall”, Kentucky Ancestors (Print), Vol. 48, Issue 2, Winter 2013
  • “Brick by Brick: Tips for Dismantling Your Brick Wall”, Kentucky Ancestors (Print), Vol. 48, Issue 3, Spring 2013
  • “Shadows of Eastern State Hospital”, Ace Weekly, Lexington KY, December 2010

TV Appearances:

Speaking Highlights: (See ‘Speaking’ Page for upcoming sessions)

  • FamilySearch Juneteenth Celebration: From Ali to Clay: Taking the Family Narrative to DNA – Free Virtual Series, June 19th, 2023.
  • RootsTech 2023 (6 Sessions): Picture It: Photo Identification and Preservation Workshop – Given Twice and asked to repeat for 2024; Listen Up! Podcasting Your Family History; FAN of the Enslaved: A Forensic Look at Two Family’s Journeys to Freedom; Navigating Racial Challenges in DNA Connections; Avoiding Ancestor Identity Theft: How to Add the Right People to Your Tree, Salt Lake City, Utah for five of them – one virtual and linked above.
  • When Genealogy Gets Creepy: Mourning Rituals, Photography, and Body Snatchers (Virtual), Tennessee Genealogical Society, October 2022.
  • Down the River and Through the Mountains: Pre-1850 Migration Through the Ohio Valley and Appalachian Range (Virtual), Castle Rock Colorado Genealogical Society, August 2022.
  • Kentucky Migration: Pathways to Settlement (Virtual), Louisville Genealogical Society, April 2022.
  • RootsTech 2022 – Hidden in Plain Sight: Free People of Color in Your Family Tree, RootsTech Connect Virtual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, FREE Virtual Conference. Post conference on-demand access: https://www.familysearch.org/rootstech/speakers/cheri-daniels/en
  • RootsTech 2021 (4 sessions) 471123 – Beyond the FAN Approach: Inclusive Research Strategies; 471127 – Airtable: Organizing Your Research with a Relational Database; 471179 – Practical Preservation Demonstration; 471215 – Successful Remote Research Strategies, RootsTech Connect Virtual Conference, Salt Lake City, Utah, FREE Virtual Conference via Rootstech.org, February 2021.
  • Discovering Your Kentucky Ancestors. Virtual (Zoom)- Allen County Public Library, Fort Wayne, Indiana, September 2020.
  • Tackling Difficult Chapters of our Family History; The Hoarder’s Guide to Family History Preservation; A Digital Citizenship Primer for Genealogists. (3 sessions) RootsTech Family History Conference, Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2020.
  • Tempest in a Teapot – The Historical Influence of Tea, Woodford County Public Library, Versailles, Kentucky, December 2019.
  • Land Speculators and the Records they Left Behind; Kentucky Research Hot Zones. (2 sessions)Kentucky History and Genealogy Conference, Mercer County Public Library, Harrodsburg, Kentucky, August 2019.
  • Kentucky Roots Revealed: Statewide, Regional, and National Resources for Finding Kentucky Ancestors; Deconstructing the Neighborhood: Using the Sanborn Fire Insurance Maps to Understand Your Ancestors’ Communities  National Genealogical Society Conference, St. Charles, Missouri, May 2019.
  • Past Forward: Tech Tools and Strategies for Sharing Your Family History Through a Consumable Genealogy Plan. RootsTech Family History Conference, Salt Palace Convention Center, Salt Lake City, Utah, February 2019.
  • DNA and the Construct of Identity: Assisting Genealogy Patrons with DNA Questions, Kentucky Library Association Annual Conference, Louisville, KY, Sept 2018.
  • Keynote: The Family Archivist – Preserving Your Heritage & Lunch session: Technology for Research, Northern Kentucky Family History Conference, Church of LDS, 144 Buttermilk Pike, Lakeside Park, Kentucky, Oct 2018.
  • “Fostering Genealogy Literacy through Virtual Engagement”, ACRL Virtual World Interest Group (Association of College and Research Libraries), Community Virtual Library, March & April 2018 Annual VCARA Conference (Virtual Center for Archives and Records Administration), SJSU: San José State University, Second Life – VCARA YouTube Video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KWcX580rpVM
  • “The Mad Hatter: Managing Your Many Duties Through Project Management Software,” “Navigating the Draper Manuscripts: Paths of Migration,” & “Outdated Outreach: Breathing New Life into our Outreach Approach,” Federation of Genealogical Societies Conference, Pittsburgh PA, Sept/Oct. 2017
  • “The Memory Ninja: Using Pinterest to Engage Your Family in Memory Collection”, National Genealogical Society Conference, Richmond VA, May 2014
  • RootsTech 2014“Piecing Together History: Crowdsourcing Events to Glean the Most Out of the Current Generation”, RootsTech Family History Conference, Salt Lake City UT, February 2014
  • “Genealogy Literacy: Providing Reference Services to a Patron Base in Transition”, Kentucky Library Association Conference, Louisville KY, September 2013
  • “The E.E. Barton Papers of Northern Kentucky”, National Genealogical Society Conference, Cincinnati OH, May 2012

Committee Appointments:

  • Secretary, Vice President, Second Life Virtual Genealogical Society, 2019-2020
  • KDLA Local Records Grant Review Committee, 2018-present
  • KLA Chair, Genealogy and Local History Round Table, 2015-2018
  • Harrison County Heritage Council: Board Member/Committee Chair, 2013-2016

Blogs:

Exhibits:

  • “Genealogy Journey: Finding Our Ancestors, Discovering Ourselves”, Second Life Exhibit, Community Virtual Library, Cookie Island, July-September 2018
  • “Unbridled History: Celebrating the Horse Industry of Kentucky”, Second Life Exhibit, University of Kentucky Island, March 2009
  • “Stitching Pieces of Time: Kentucky Quilting Traditions and the Wade Hall Quilt Collection”, Second Life Exhibit, University of Kentucky Island, November 2008

Memberships/Affiliations: