“Navigating Your Jewish DNA Results” will be the topic of a presentation by genealogist Adina Newman for the Sunday, Jan. 23, 2022, virtual meeting of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois at 2 p.m. CST. Register/RSVP to receive the Zoom link at https://jgsi.org/Events-calendar.

This online presentation, which will be free and open to the public, will focus on interpreting so-called “Jewish DNA” results from the major commercial testing companies (i.e., Ancestry, 23andMe, Family Tree DNA, and MyHeritage), with primary focus on Ashkenazi Jewish heritage. The speaker will dig into common beliefs and misconceptions related to interpreting these results and provide context and strategies to maximize successful research.

Topics will include ethnicity estimates, tools to understand and locate DNA matches, nuances found at each testing company, and strategies to tackle endogamy. Although not required, familiarity with navigating the various DNA testing sites and viewing DNA matches is recommended.

Adina Newman, EdD, is the owner of My Family Genie, where she assists clients with their research and blogs about her own family history. Her main interests are in Jewish genealogy, genetic genealogy, and New England. She has a doctorate in educational leadership and a certificate in genealogical research from Boston University.

She volunteers as a Jewish genetic genealogy Facebook group moderator, social media coordinator for…