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Richard Melzer is originally from Teddy Roosevelt's hometown of Oyster Bay, New York. He has lived in New Mexico since 1973.
Dr. Melzer earned his Ph.D. in History at UNM in 1979. He taught history at the University of New Mexico's Valencia Campus from 1979 to 2019, retiring as a UNM Regents professor of history.
He is a past two-term president of the Historical Society of New Mexico.
He is the author, co-author, or editor of over a hundred articles and chapters as well as over 30 books about New Mexico history. Ten of his books have won major book awards.
Among the many awards he has received for writing, teaching, and service to his profession, he is most proud of receiving the University of New Mexico's Outstanding Teacher of the Year Award.
Jonathan Pringle is the Archives Division Director for the State Archives of New Mexico and has been serving in this capacity since October 2023. Before this he was an archivist with the University of New Mexico’s Health Sciences Library (2019-2023); Northern Arizona University’s Cline Library (2011-2019); and the Museum of Northern Arizona (2008-2011). He graduated from the University of British Columbia’s Master of Archival Studies program in 2008. A relative newbie to genealogical research, he enjoys helping patrons find information that was previously unknown to them and using it to fill in familial gaps.
Dena Hunt has been working on genealogical projects since the age of ten when she helped her great grandfather gather information on his father who was a Civil War Veteran. She has been obsessed with genealogy since then. She has a Bachelor’s degree in Anthropology and Art History from the University of Denver and Certification in Museum Studies from the Institute of American Indian Arts. She is also certified in American Genealogy from the National Genealogical Society. Currently, she has her dream job working at the New Mexico State Archives where she assists patrons with uncovering the past and family secrets.
Jeremy Jojola is a lifelong television news journalist whose career has been marked by high level investigations and feature stories that have resonated with people in multiple communities. He’s worked in El Paso, Albuquerque and most recently in Denver where helives with his family. Jeremy has a passion for the history and heritage of southern Colorado and northern New Mexico where his family has lived for generations. He runs the Cuentos y Corazón social media profiles in which he features stories from the homeland.
Larry Torres, Author Historian Educator
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Juanita Lavadie, Author Historian
Toni Gonzales, FamilySearch Center Taos
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Estevan Rael-Galvez, Keynote speaker.