Sunday, January 2, 2011

RootsTech 2011 Announces Lineup of Keynote Speakers

The upcoming RootsTech conference promises to be an exciting meld of genealogy and technology.  I'll be there reporting as an official RootsTech blogger, and I hope to see you there too!  Here's the latest news on who you can look forward to hearing from at this ground-breaking event.

SALT LAKE CITY—The RootsTech 2011 Conference announced its keynote speakers today. The national speakers reflect the conference’s focus on creating a forum where genealogy technology users can discover exciting new research tools and technology creators can learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers. The conference will be held February 10–12, 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Shane
Shane Robison, Executive Vice President and Chief Strategy 
and Technology Officer for Hewlett-Packard Company. 
Mr. Robison is responsible for shaping HP’s corporate strategy 
and technology agenda and oversees the company’s corporate 
marketing function. He is instrumental in steering the company’s 
multibillion dollar research and development investment and 
leads the company’s merger and acquisition activities. He also 
has responsibility for worldwide corporate marketing activities, 
including brand strategy, internal and external communications, 
digital strategy and hp.com, environmental sustainability, social 
innovation, and customer intelligence.

brewsterBrewster Kahle, Founder, The Internet Archive.
A passionate advocate for public Internet access and a successful 
entrepreneur, Brewster Kahle has spent his career intent on a 
singular focus: making information free and accessible through 
digital means. Mr. Kahle created the Internet’s first publishing 
system and has helped revolutionize the electronic publishing 
market. Through the Internet Archive, Mr. Kahle is working to 
create an online catalog of every book ever created. At the same 
time, Mr. Kahle cofounded Alexa Internet, a service that collects 
data on web browsing behavior for future analysis. The services
provided by Alexa Internet are used in more than 80 percent of 
web browsers today.

CBW FGSCurt Witcher, Historical Genealogy Department 
Manager, Allen County Public Library.
Mr. Witcher’s success in community involvement, integration of 
technology in library science, and collaboration with various 
organizations has made him a highly visible individual in the 
genealogical community. His dynamic presentation style has 
made him a highly favored presenter among a wide variety of 
audiences. He is a member of the Genealogy Committee of the 
American Library Association and past president of the National 
Genealogical Society and of the Federation of Genealogical 
Societies. He is coeditor of the 1987 through 2000 editions of 
the Periodical Source Index and was a research consultant for 
both PBS Ancestorsseries.
Jay's business photo
Jay L. Verkler, CEO, FamilySearch International.
Mr. Verkler currently serves as president and CEO of FamilySearch, 
sponsored by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. 
FamilySearch has gathered the largest collection of genealogical 
records in the world. Operations include worldwide image and 
information collection, product and tools delivery, and patron 
services in over 4,600 family history centers around the world. 
Mr. Verkler previously served in various executive positions within 
innovative Silicon Valley companies such as Oracle Corporation, 
inCommon Inc., TIBCO Software, Vitria Technology, and Sales.com. 
Mr. Verkler studied electrical engineering, computer science, and 
chemistry at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology as well as 
Japanese and Asian studies at Harvard University.

About RootsTech


RootsTech is a new conference designed to bring technologists together with genealogists so they can learn from each other and find solutions to the challenges faced in family history research today. The conference’s activities and offerings are focused on content that will help genealogists and family historians discover exciting new research tools while enabling technology creators to learn the latest development techniques from industry leaders and pioneers.

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