Interview with D. Joshua Taylor

At the Arkansas Genealogical Society Fall Seminar in October,  our secretary Beth Garison Wylie was lucky enough to meet up with renowned genealogist D. Joshua Taylor for a quick interview.  Joshua is the President of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society, host of the PBS show Genealogy Roadshow and a founding member of the NextGen Genealogy Network.

Tell us how NextGen started.

NextGen was actually a couple of different people doing the same thing at once. We wanted a resource for those interested in getting the next generation of genealogists together. We were chatting over Facebook one night and NextGen was born. We basically wanted a resource – we wanted a place to get together.

What would you like to see happen in the next two to three years with NextGen?

I would like to see NextGen do online events, webinars, seminars and networking events online. There is such an opportunity to present programs such as ‘the 10 things you can do to get started in genealogy’ and ‘ways to branch out’. This will really let the world know about the next generation and what they can do. Also to encourage that bridge between the current generations as well. I would like to see NextGen move forward with that.

How is the NYG&B engaging the next generation? 

Oh boy! It’s always been one of my passions. One of things we started is a NYG&B Labs program this year. The idea being that we want to help emerging professionals and those who have an idea, but lack the resources to make happen. We want to provide those resources. We partner with someone that has an idea in some area of genealogy with a tech professional and other mentors trying to develop new products and ideas.


Find D. Joshua Taylor online at DJoshuataylor.com and New York G&B Society

The NYG&B Week starts January 8 2018.  For details on the events taking place, including webinars and special events, please visit the NYG&B Week page.

For information on the NYG&B Labs initiative, please visit the NYG&B Labs page.

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