Karen Stanbary, MA, LCSW, CG®, BCG Trustee, is an author and national lecturer focusing on topics related to using genetic evidence correlated with documentary evidence to solve genealogical brick walls. A Chicago local, she holds a Master’s Degree in Clinical Social Work from the University of Chicago and has completed advanced graduate study in Social Anthropology at the Colegio de Michoacán, Mexico. Her genealogical practice specializes in Midwestern U.S., Chicago, and Mexican research as well as complex problem-solving, unknown parentage, and DNA analysis. She is a coordinator and faculty member at IGHR, and SLIG. She received the NGSQ Award for Excellence for her complex evidence case study incorporating traditional documentary research and autosomal DNA analysis in the June 2016 issue of the National Genealogical Society Quarterly. She published “Drowning in DNA? The Genealogical Proof Standard Tosses a Lifeline” in Debbie Parker Wayne’s book Advanced Genetic Genealogy: Techniques and Case Studies. Most recently, she published another complex DNA evidence case study in the NGSQ June 2023 issue: “A Charming Scoundrel and a Tragic Victim―Charles Mapes and Maggie McBurney of Rock Island County, Illinois: Biological Parents of Myrtle Eva (Porter) Dewein.” She holds the credential Certified Genealogist from the Board for Certification of Genealogists where she serves as a Trustee and is chair of the DNA Committee.
