Since 1999, she has been a consultant with the U.S. Army's repatriation efforts to locate the families of soldiers still unaccounted for from World War I, World War II, Korea and Vietnam.[5] As a genealogist, she is best known for unearthing celebrity roots,[6] conducting forensic research[7] for coroners, police departments, NCIS and the FBI, and championing the use of DNA testing to learn about one’s ancestry.[8] She researched Michelle Obama's family tree,[9] researched Annie Moore, the first immigrant through Ellis Island,[1] traced Barack Obama's roots to Moneygall, Ireland,[10][3][11] and discovered that Al Sharpton’s great-grandfather had been owned by relatives of Strom Thurmond.[12] She also found out that Joe Biden is "roughly five-eighths Irish".[13] She, herself, is of Irish and Rusyn heritage with roots in Ireland, Slovakia, Poland and Ukraine. Formerly Chief Family Historian for Ancestry.com, she also founded Unclaimed Persons.[14] She is nicknamed the "Indiana Jones of Genealogy".[15] She is a former board member of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG).[4]
Author
Smolenyak has authored six books. She has written articles for Ancestry, Family Chronicle, Family Tree Magazine, Irish America, Genealogical Computing, Heritage Quest, NGS NewsMagazine, Everton's Family History Magazine, and APG Quarterly. Smolenyak is also a Huffington Post contributor.[6] Smolenyak conducted research and wrote the companion book for the U.S. version of Who Do You Think You Are?.[16]
She was the winner of writing awards from the International Society of Family History Writers and Editors and the Bo Peep Award, given by the International Black Sheep Society of Genealogists.[21] Smolenyak was awarded the 2010 NGS Award of Merit for her work in advancing responsible genealogy to a broad popular audience.[22]
Works
In Search of Our Ancestors: 101 Inspiring Stories of Serendipity and Connection in Rediscovering Our Family History. Cincinnati, OH: Adams Media Corporation, 2000. ISBN978-1-58062-317-9[23]
Honoring Our Ancestors: Inspiring Stories of the Quest for Our Roots. Provo, UT: Ancestry.com, 2002. ISBN978-1-931279-00-0[24]
They Came to America: Finding Your Immigrant Ancestors. San Francisco, CA: Santa Fe Ventures, Inc., 2003. ISBN978-0-9641403-4-9[25]
