Currently accepting clients for...

• Speaking / Presenting

I am a professional genealogist specializing in Jewish ancestry research. I love helping my clients solve their genealogy puzzles, especially finding that elusive shtetl name. I have been involved with Jewish genealogy for almost 30 years.

I am past-President of the Jewish Genealogical Society of Colorado, served as co-chair of the original Belarus Special Interest Group, and travelled to Belarus as a JewishGen ShtetlSchleppers liaison. Although, I split my time between Arizona and Portugal, I make regular research trips to New York and have also traveled internationally with clients.

Geographic Specialities

• Russian Empire (Russia, Belarus, Ukraine and eastern Poland)
• United States
• Great Britain
• South Africa

Testimonials
Over and above her facility in researching records, Risa has the experience to analyze those records and to put the information she finds in context. I feel like I know my great-great-grandmother - where she lived, what she wore and how many cows & chickens they had. We went together to her small town in Slovakia which was amazing. S.D.

I want to thank you sincerely for your help and expertise over the past year in uncovering key details about my somewhat murky family history. R.B.

You did such a great job with all of this research -- thank you! M.S.

Publications/Media
Risa Daitzman Heywood, "The Industrial Removal Office: How a Little-Known Program Scattered Jews Throughout the United States,"  DOROT, vol. 45  (Summer 2024): 1, 5-8.
Risa Daitzman Heywood, "The Power of the Catalog: How to Find Unindexed Records,"  Avotaynu: The International Review of Jewish Genealogy, vol. 36  (Spring 2020): 15-17.

Lectures
My lectures include:

• For the Protection of Girls and Women – The Crisis of Jewish “White Slavery,” 1880-1920
• The Industrial Removal Office - How a little-known program scattered Jews throughout the United States
• The Proven Path to Finding your Family’s Town and Original Surname
• Missing Manifests: Tips for Finding Those Elusive Passenger Lists
• Hungarian Holocaust Journey - A Daughter's Search for Family
• The Importance of Thorough American Research
• Jewish Genealogy for the non-Jewish Genealogist
• Introduction to Jewish Genealogy – Getting Started

Research Time Periods

• 20th Century
• 19th Century

Languages
English - native fluency
Russian, German and Yiddish - research languages
Portuguese and Spanish - spoken, written and research

Certificates
ProGen 45 Certificate in Genealogical Research (Boston University)

Affiliations
International Association of Jewish Genealogical Societies (IAJGS), Board Member