Schedule of Upcoming Events
Please note: Meeting times, dates, locations and speakers are subject to change.
Information is regularly updated.
Our meetings will be in-person AND online whenever possible and safe, and for members who do not live near the Philadelphia area.
Our events are USUALLY scheduled on the same day and time each month, e.g., first Monday for Everything Genealogy. However, they might be moved to another week to work around Jewish or national holidays or other events. Our presentations/speakers may vary depending on the speaker’s availability.
Sunday, May 17, 2026
Zoom only
The Evan Fishman Memorial Day of Learning part 2 – Artificial Intelligence
A members-only event starting at 1 PM
This is a special half-day program to provide information about using Artificial Intelligence (AI) in creating and advancing your family history. This program is for members in good standing for 2026.
This program is in honor of and in memory of Evan Fishman, a long-time Board members and editor of our award-winning CHRONICLES.
1:00-1:15 PM – Introduction
1:15 -2:30 PM – AI Foundations with Arthur Sissman, Founder Jewish Genealogy SIG (JGSIG)
A deep dive into the basics of prompting and the effective use of AI chatbots for genealogical research.
Arthur Sissman, from Naples FL, has been engaged in family history genealogy since 1999 and genetic genealogy (DNA) since 2015. Arthur has built over 60 family history trees for his various family surname lines. In addition, he has tested his autosomal DNA at all the major DNA testing companies, and his Y-DNA and MtDNA at FamilyTreeDNA. Using his 3 Legged Stool Protocol – focusing on Surname, Place and DNA, Arthur has found relatives previously unknown to him and has built a current tree out to 1500 people, from Galicia/Romania, with over 50+ DNA matches across all branches. For information on Arthur’s Jewish Genealogy SIG monthly meetings and scheduled workshops, email genresearch13@gmail.com
2:30–2:45 PM Break
3:00-4:30 PM – Advanced Prompt Engineering with Arthur Sissman, Founder Jewish Genealogy SIG (JGSIG)
Sophisticated strategies tailored for intermediate and advanced users to unlock complex record analysis. (more description to come)
4:30-5:00 PM – Wrap-up
Date: Sunday, May 31, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM for Check in, Schmoozing and Mentoring – in-person only)
Hybrid Meeting
1:30 PM official meeting start time
Location: In-Person Location: Main Line Reform Temple (tentative)
Speaker: Raquel Levy-Toledano, Board Member of International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies and International Institute for Jewish Genealogy
Raquel is involved in Moroccan Jewish Genealogy and Genetic Genealogy projects, director at IAJGS, member of the General Assembly of IIJG, board member of the Cercle de Généalogie Juive (France) where she manages the genetic genealogy group, president of NAJMA (Nos Ancêtres Juifs Marocains et Algériens), a French Genealogical Society, co-administrator of the Avotaynu DNA project section involving North African Jews, expert curator of Geni’s Moroccan and Algerian Jewish family tree, founder of the Généalogie des Juifs Marocains Facebook Group, which has 12,700 members .
Topic: 19th Century Jewish Presence in the Land of Israel
The Jewish presence is the Land of Israel of the 19th century has not been extensively studied. While they have been poorly explored, the Montefiore censuses taken in the Land of Israel (1839, 1849, 1855, 1866 and 1875) constitute a unique tool to characterize the Jewish population of the Land of Israel of the 19th Century. The presentation will detail the waves of migration to the Land of Israel, the composition of the members of the Jewish population (Ashkenazim and Sephardim), their countries of birth, their demographic characteristics, and will compare the occupation, the socio-economic status and the naming pattern of Ashkenazim and Sephardim.
Date: Sunday, June 28, 2026
Time: 1:00 PM for Check in, Schmoozing and Mentoring – in-person only)
IN-PERSON ONLY
1:30 PM official meeting start time
In-Person Location: Rodeph Shalom (tentative)
Speaker: Ellen Kowitt, Professional Genealogist, Writer, and Presenter
Ellen operates Sole Searching Genealogy & Historical Research. She is a frequent presenter at national conferences and has published articles in NGS Magazine, Family Tree Magazine, and Avotaynu: The International Journal on Jewish Genealogy. Topics include getting started in Jewish genealogy, methodology, Jewish institutional records, comparing Jewish resources on the genealogy giant websites, Russian Empire research, and Holocaust in Ukraine. Ellen has completed the ProGen study program and several genealogical institutes, she is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, and while accepting clients, she continues to volunteer as JewishGen USA Research Division Director and D.A.R. Jewish Specialty Researcher. Originally from New York and Washington DC, Ellen resides in Colorado with her husband and is mother to two college students. www.EllenKowitt.com.
Topic: Endgame Genealogy
Is it the journey or the destination? Many enjoy the process and camaraderie that comes along with the act of doing genealogy research. Others have goals to answer a specific question, find a living relative, build a family tree, or publish a book. What happens when you move onto other pursuits or suddenly depart midstream before completion? End of life planning typically does not include instructions for hard-earned and meaningful genealogy research. How would loved ones or fellow landsman find and navigate your online passwords, final version of a family tree, photos, acquired documents, translations, instructions on next steps, or manuscript in process? Let’s explore big picture questions about setting expectations, create a planning checklist to ensure your intentions are honored, and start organizing today for tomorrow. This lecture will allow time for participants to share best practices.
Sunday, July 26, 2026
1:30 PM (1 PM for Schmoozing and Mentoring)
Zoom Meeting
Speaker: Invited Tammy Hepps
Tammy Hepps is a genealogist and local historian who focuses on topics within American Jewish history, especially small towns and synagogues. Her projects combine research techniques from genealogy and history and draw heavily upon her technology expertise to break new ground in data gathering and interpretation. She is best known for her community reconstitution project focusing on the Jewish community of Homestead, PA, available online at HomesteadHebrews.com. Tammy earned her AB in computer science from Harvard.
TENTATIVE
Wednesday, September 9, 2026
6 PM
Hybrid Meeting, In person location TBD
Co-hosted by HAMEC (hopefully)
Speaker: Robert Watson, Historian and Professor
Robert Watson is a professor, author, historian, media commentator and community activist. He joined the faculty of Lynn in 2007 after spending 15 years teaching at universities around the country. He has published over 45 books and approximately 200 scholarly articles, essays and chapters on topics in history and politics. His recent books America’s First Crisis, The Nazi Titanic, The Ghost Ship of Brooklyn, George Washington’s Final Battle, Escape, When Washington Burned, and America’s First Plague have received critical acclaim. More at https://www.lynn.edu/campus-directory/people/robert-watson.
Topic: The History of Antisemitism
Dr. Robert Watson, a distinguished professor of history, explores the long and tragic history of anti-Semitism—one that spans cultures and countries over the millennia— and reveals the underlying sources of hate, how it has endured over time and the “justifications” behind countless horrors.
Sunday, October 11, 2026
1:30 PM (1 PM for Schmoozing and Mentoring for in-person attendees)
Hybrid Meeting, In person location Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park, PA
Speaker: Karen Franklin, Professional Genealogist and Speaker
Karen S. Franklin is Director of Outreach for JewishGen and Director of Family Research at the Leo Baeck Institute. She is a past president of IAJGS, and has served as chair of the Council of American Jewish Museums, the Memorial Museums committee of the International Council of Museums, and played leadership roles in many other professional organizations.
Topic: Researching the Rescuers: The Story of Survival in Southern France
Sunday, November 15, 2026
1:30 PM (1 PM for Schmoozing and Mentoring)
Zoom Meeting
Speaker and Topic TBD
Sunday, December 13, 2026
1:30 PM (1 PM for Schmoozing and Mentoring for in-person attendees)
Hybrid Meeting, In person location Reform Congregation Keneseth Israel, Elkins Park, PA
Speaker: Andrew Zalewski, Gesher Galicia’s Historical Research Advisor
Dr. Andrew Zalewski is a former professor of medicine at Jefferson University in Philadelphia. He has written two books on Austrian Galicia: Galician Trails: The Forgotten Story of One Family and Galician Portraits: In Search of Jewish Roots, both of which reconstruct the story of his ancestors within a broader historical context. During his term as vice president of Gesher Galicia, a non-profit Jewish genealogy organization, he led archival research on Jewish physicians, Jewish cultural transformation and legal rights in Galicia. Currently, as a research advisor to Gesher Galicia, he coordinates a multi-year project that examines the Jewish experiences in the Soviet-occupied former eastern Galicia. His previous research received support from the National Fund of the Republic of Austria; the Malcolm Stern grant; and contributions of Gesher Galicia members.
Topic: NKVD Files: on the Margin of the Holocaust
Shortly after the start of World War II, the Soviet Union invaded Poland and annexed its Eastern territories. This talk examines Jewish experiences in former Eastern Galicia (now Western Ukraine), based on the files of the Soviet internal security apparatus (NKVD). Among those arrested by the NKVD were Polish Jews — comprising both pre-war residents of Eastern Polish territories and refugees from areas under German occupation — as well as former Jewish citizens of Austria, Czechoslovakia and Jews from Germany, Hungary and Romania. This presentation aims to illustrate the extensive data available in the NKVD files.
JGASGP member Avivah Pinsky will explain the interesting find in the NKVD files of a member of her husband’s family.