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Ira Gardner
Ira Gardner
Born and raised in Las Vegas, and went to Ranch High School. A true Vegas native.
Ira first became interested in genealogy when he was only 12, and has been engaged in it ever since. While he never professes to be a "true genealogist", his love of it has meant that he is constantly learning, and is still always learning new things about it to this day. He enjoys sharing his knowledge with others, and his enthusiasm is contagious.
Ira gives an interesting, unique approach to his presentation styles.
Daniel Horowitz
Daniel Horowitz
Featured speaker at the 2026 RootsTech, and leading Genealogist.
Dedicated to Genealogy since 1986, Daniel was the teacher and the study guide editor of the family history project "Searching for My Roots" in Venezuela for 15 years. He was a board member of The International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS) for 10 years, now is involved in several crowdsource digitization and transcription projects, and holds a board-level position at The Israel Genealogy Research Association (IGRA). Since 2006 Daniel has been working at MyHeritage liaising with genealogy societies, bloggers, and media, as well as lecturing, and attending conferences around the world.
Rhonda Long
Rhonda Long
Rhonda Long is Vice President of the Nevada African American Genealogy Society, an attorney by profession, and a genealogist at heart. With family roots spanning Indiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, and Mississippi, Rhonda's own journey into African American genealogy began more than 10 years ago through trying to uncover personal family mysteries. This interest quickly grew from a curiosity into a calling to educate others about African American genealogy research.
Now a 20-year resident of Las Vegas, she is passionate about history, community involvement, and service, dedicating her time to volunteering and educating others on how to research, preserve, and share their family stories. Whether she's behind a podium or sitting beside a fellow researcher, Rhonda believes every family's history deserves to be found and told.
Lynzi Coffey
Lynzi Coffey
Lynzi has over 12 years experience with Genealogy research. The former owner of Outback Flashlights, she now works as the FamilySearch Center Operations Manager in Lehi. She serves at church as a Temple and Family History Consultant, and volunteers her time with the Find a Grave project where she takes pictures of headstones, records the GPS location of burial plots and documents and transcribes where necessary. She lives in Spanish Fork, Utah with her family.
Ben Kempner
Ben Kempner
Ben Kempner is a genealogy instructor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, a longtime volunteer at the FamilySearch Center, and President of a local genealogy society, with over 11 years of experience helping others discover their family history. He previously had a 39-year career in sales, marketing, and consulting at IBM and holds an MBA from the University of Denver.
Sandy Jackson
Sandy Jackson
Originally from Albuquerque, New Mexico, and currently living in Las Vegas, Sandy Jackson received her education from the New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology. Sandy has been training for most of her life. She trained in her profession, and also served as an Assistant Coordinator at the Family Search Center for many years, where she trained constantly.
Genealogy and training is her love of life.
Mary Ellen West
Mary Ellen West
Originally from Bountiful, Utah, Mary Ellen lives in Las Vegas Nevada. She is a lifelong educator and accidental family historian who has explored a variety of methods to involve her family in the lives of their ancestors. She has also served at the Family Search Center training many of the staff over the years.
She is personable and fun-loving. Mary Ellen is a true genealogist who loves sharing her experience with others.
Lee Nishimoto
Lee Nishimoto
Lee is a professional genealogical researcher with more than 50 years of research and teaching experience. She received her B.S. degrees in Genealogical Research and Psychology from BYU.
She hosted a TV program in DC area for several years called “In Search of Family History”.
She has been a genealogy and history presenter for many colleges, genealogy societies, conferences, seminars and was a research expert for 2021 Roots Tech. She with her husband were previously the Directors of the Las Vegas Nevada FamilySearch Library.
Keith McDonald
Keith McDonald
Keith McDonald is the Assistant Coordinator of the Las Vegas Family Search Center here in town. He works as a Clinical Instructor at UNLV's School of Dental Medicine.
Keith studied dentistry at both the University of Nevada, Reno and the University of the Pacific Arthur A. Dugoni School of Dentistry.
He has an unfailing passion and talent for Genealogy and is an engaging and capable instructor.
Richard S. Wilson
Richard S. Wilson
Richard S. Wilson received his BA from California State University in Long Beach, CA. He has been doing genealogical research since 1976 and using personal computers since 1979.
He was a nationally known genealogical lecturer, speaking at national conferences from 1995 to 2004, when health problems caused him to stop nationwide lecturing.
Previously, he trained Caterpillar dealers worldwide on the Installation, troubleshooting and support of Dual-Fuel Engines.
He has been a Past President of the Genealogical Speakers Guild and the State Coordinator for the California portion of The USGenWeb Project (usgenweb.org) from 1996 to about 2010.
He is a lifetime member of the Whittier Area Genealogical Society (WAGS) in Whittier, California and a member of the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society (CCNGS).
He is currently living in Las Vegas, Nevada and has worked at the Las Vegas FamilySearch Center (lasvegasfsc.org) for over 5 years. Richard has served as a Temple worker for the past 20 years at five temples, and currently serves in the Las Vegas Temple.
Ricardo Ascencion
Ricardo Ascencion
A native of Mexico, I developed an interest in genealogy in 1995 when my wife began visiting a FamilySearch center to research her ancestors. Soon after, I started exploring my own family history, as well as assisting others, particularly with Spanish-language records that were often difficult for many to interpret. My background has equipped me with a strong understanding of the language, customs, history, and geography of Latin American countries. I have also participated in local events organized by the Clark County Nevada Genealogical Society, FamilySearch, and UnidosUS.
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