BCG Education Fund

2014 Leary Distinguished Lecturer

Kay Haviland Freilich

Kay Haviland Freilich, CG, CGL, FNGS, is the 2014 Leary Distinguished Lecturer at the NGS Family History Conference in Richmond, Virginia. Her topic is “Research Strategies That Work.” Effective strategies include focused, well-developed research plans, broad investigations of people and events affecting the target person, pristine documentation, and written summaries detailing findings and evidence. Applying tried and true methodology frequently leads to successfully resolving research problems. The lecture includes case studies illustrating the value of employing effective strategies.

Kay’s substantial contributions as a researcher, author, lecturer, and volunteer in the genealogical community are well known. She served as President of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (2003‒2005) and as Trustee, instructed at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research (2006‒2012), served as a director of the Federation of Genealogical Societies, Vice President of the Genealogical Society of Pennsylvania, and in a multitude of other positions across the genealogical field. She authored the NGS publication Research in the States: Pennsylvania, three family histories, and has published in numerous genealogical publications. Kay develops the annual BCG Skillbuilding Track at the NGS Conference in conjunction with NGS. In 2009, she won the National Genealogical Society Family History Writing Contest, and in 2012, she was named Fellow of the National Genealogical Society for her outstanding volunteer efforts in behalf of the Society.

During Kay’s tenure as an Education Fund Trustee (2003–2009), she developed its Putting Skills To Work program and the Helen F. M. Leary Distinguished Lecture Series. Education Fund Trustees are very pleased to welcome Kay “home” as the 2014 Leary Distinguished Lecturer.

BCG Education Fund