Now, I realize that most of you who are accessing this site have probably had just about enough of me, but I figure that some of you might want to know more about me and why I am so involved in doing family history work. I once saw a funny screensaver at a local research library that said "Dead people are my life..." Only a fellow genealogist would understand why I thought that was hilarious (and so true)!
I have been interested in doing family history research since the age of 13, shortly before becoming a member of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints. The Church's unique beliefs about eternal family units have only deepened my interest and heightened my fascination with my family's history.
I graduated from the University of Washington in 1990 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Zoology after a number of years attending various colleges off and on. It would be nice to say that I was all done with the college experience, but I went back and earned my second bachelor's degree in Information Technology and Systems at the University of Washington Tacoma in 2013.
I am married and our family lives in the great Pacific Northwest (I'm a tree hugger at heart). My husband has a much more diverse ancestral background than mine (Ukrainian, Polish, Bohemian and Norwegian!). As a matter of fact, the name Kozy is a shortened version of the Ukrainian name Kozachenko. My ancestry predominantly comes from the British Isles, but there is a smattering of early Dutch, Swiss, Belgian and possibly German as well. We are the parents of three wonderful children and now I'm a grandma to three gorgeous grandsons.
I have done volunteer work at the Puget Sound Regional Archives, a branch of the Washington State Archives. I extracted early King, Pierce, and Kitsap County naturalization papers for a searchable database now located on the Secretary of State's Digital Archives, as well as older Washington State census records. I have been involved with the USGenWeb project over the years and am currently the county coordinator for Lawrence and Crawford counties in Illinois. I also enjoy working on the FamilySearch Indexing project being run by the LDS church. Everyone can help with FamilySearch Indexing! It's easy and can be done from home. All you need to do is visit their website, read about the projects, accept one, and get busy! I'm also currently serving as an at-home family history research missionary for the LDS Church.
I am a past president of the Jewish Genealogical Society of WA State and served as a board member for a number of years. I have also served on the boards of the South King County Genealogical Society and the Washington State Genealogical Society. For a number of years I have taught genealogy classes in the community and to genealogical societies, and have enjoyed it immensely! I have also done genetic genealogy consultations, helping folks to figure out if and how using DNA can help them with their family history. If you are interested, please contact me.
In April 2016, I completed ProGen24 and finished the American and English Records Certificates from the National Institute for Genealogical Studies in April 2017. This is an excellent program based on a series of web-based classes on a variety of genealogical topics. I have also enjoyed attending a number of institute courses over the past five years at GRIP, IGHR, Gen-Fed, and SLIG. I currently serve as the data manager on the SLIG committee, but have served as syllabus coordinator and assistant to the director in the past. From 2021-2023, I served in the position of Education Course Manager for the National Genealogical Society.
When I'm not doing any of the above, I enjoy volunteering at my local LDS Family History Center, reading Jane Austen and mystery novels, and continuing to work on my portfolio in order to become a credentialed genealogist.
I wish you happy hunting!
This page last updated 22 July 2024.
