Our reputable, talented Search Angels are among the top in their respective fields. We care about our clients and our community and will work tirelessly to achieve exceptional results for you.
Search Angels
Laura Olmsted
Laura Olmsted is the Founder and Executive Director of DNAngels, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping individuals uncover their biological parentage through the use of consumer DNA testing and genetic genealogy research. Since founding DNAngels in 2019, she has led a team of international volunteers in solving more than 7,500
Jennifer Schweibinz
Jennifer Schweibinz is a Genetic Genealogist. Jennifer found her love for Genealogy when she stumbled across an old family secret. As she rolled up her sleeves and tapped into her Jersey Girl stubbornness, she relentlessly worked until she found answers. After that, Jennifer found herself volunteering as intake manager for
Cindy Billingsley Arocha
Cindy is a Genetic Genealogist and the Director of Operations. Her interest in genealogy began more than three decades ago when she embarked on tracing her own family lineage. Adopting traditional methods, she diligently explored her ancestry by frequenting libraries, soliciting documents through mail, and meticulously jotting down notes. In
Lara Schultz
Lara Schultz is a Genetic Genealogist and DNAngels’ Staffing Coordinator. Her interest in genealogy began in elementary school as she spent hours with her grandfather writing out her family tree and interviewing his very large Italian immigrant family. This interest further grew when she began searching for her mother-in-law’s biological
Carolanne Murphy
Carolanne is a Genetic Genealogist and the U.K. Team Lead. Her journey into genetic genealogy was sparked by her father-in-law’s quest to uncover his unknown biological father, born during a time of secrecy in a mother and baby home. Through diligent self-education via books and online resources, Carolanne skillfully navigated the
Lorie Cousin
Lorie Cousin is a Genetic Genealogist and the Executive Assistant to the Founder. She grew up in Maryland and currently resides in Virginia. Her fascination with genealogy began years ago, watching her father meticulously construct their family tree using pencil, graph paper, and ruler. As she grew older, Lorie encouraged
Brenda Gudino
Brenda Gudino is a Genetic Genealogist and Angel Team Lead for Team Puerto Rico. She is a member of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), the International Society of Genetic Genealogy (ISOGG), the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG), and the Sociedad Puertorriquena de Genealogica (SPG). She received her certificate (CG) in
Kim Reichelt
Kim Reichelt is a Genetic Genealogist. By day, she is a management consultant who builds mathematical simulation models to solve strategic problems. This skill set served her well when she discovered genetic genealogy after her husband bought her test kits for Ancestry and 23&Me. That fateful purchase led to the
Linda Grinnell
Linda Grinnell is a Genetic Genealogist. She has been a genealogist since she was in her twenties and well before the advent of DNA testing. Since she had already helped a number of friends and relatives identify their birth parents, volunteering for DNAngels was a natural progression. She began in
Julie Mertz
Julie is a Genetic Genealogist and our Angel Team Lead for Email-Based cases. She became interested in genealogy after the passing of her father, when she realized that she didn’t know very much about her family history. After taking a DNA test, she learned that something was not quite right.
Tess McIntosh
Tess is a Genetic Genealogist. Tess fell in love with genealogy when as a teen she would go through her step-grandmother’s genealogy research. After her grandmother passed away, she felt honored to be given her grandmother’s work/research on the family. As her fascination with DNA and genealogy grew, Tess came
Amy Groessl
Amy Groessl is Search Angel. She grew up in rural West Michigan and has lived in Chicago for most of her adult life. As an adoptee, Amy became interested in researching her biological lineage as a teenager, and sleuthing became a passion early on. With only non-identifying information about her
Amy Frederick
Amy Frederick is a passionate Search Angel with an unstoppable drive to uncover the truth. A natural problem-solver with a heart for helping others, she thrives on piecing together the puzzles of genealogy and DNA mysteries. Her journey began in a moment of serendipity—while on an anniversary trip to Delray
Jennifer Monks
Jennifer Monks is a Search Angel with a special interest in challenging cases and personal experience solving family mysteries. As an avid amateur genealogist since her early twenties, Jennifer developed a fascination with the field of genetic genealogy as it became evident DNA test results would help identify unknown family
Deena Passmore
Deena is a Search Angel. As a little girl, Deena loved sitting with her parents and grandmother learning about their family history. She memorized the stories until she could tell them just as if she had been there. In the late 1990’s, Deena began her search in earnest. She combed
Jessica Deem
Jessica Deem is a Search Angel at DNAngels, where she passionately helps individualsuncover their family histories and stories. With over 15 years of experience in genealogicalresearch, she enjoys sharing fascinating family tales and discovering new connections. Outsideof her work, she loves spending quality time with her husband, daughter, and close
Kristina Wood
Kristina Wood is a Search Angel. She was born and raised in Alabama. Kristina graduated from Jacksonville State University in 2015 with a bachelor’s in social work. Kristina has always had a love for history and genealogy. She started working on her own family’s genealogy while still in high school.
Sheridan Steffler
Sheridan Steffler is a dedicated Search Angel with DNAngels, with a passion for familyhistory research spanning over 25 years. Sheridan earned a certificate in Family HistoryResearch from BYU-Idaho in 2023, complementing her BS degree in Psychology. Inaddition to her research endeavors, Sheridan also imparts her love for music byteaching Elementary
Tara Crawford
Tara Crawford is a Search Angel. She was born and raised in California & has lived mostof her life in the southern part of California. Tara has been a licensed Cosmetologistsince 2003 and currently works as a trainer and educator for a large national haircutfranchise. Tara has always had an
Shannon Watson
Shannon Watson has been passionate about genealogy for more than 30 years, a journey that began when she joined the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints at age 15. Her interest in DNA research grew after using AncestryDNA to help identify her father’s biological father — turning a single
David Vargas
David Vargas is a Search Angel and Angel Team Lead for Team Mexico. Born in Tennessee and raised in California, he discovered his passion for genealogy in 1998 when his wife was pregnant with their son. His interest in DNA’s role in genealogy began after uncovering several previously unknown cousins,