CR 1 – DNA Interest Group – KEENEY

Mckell Keeney is the founder of the Phoenix East Valley DNA Interest Group, which meets at the Mesa Arizona Temple Visitors’ Center most months on the first Thursday at 7 pm. She coordinates the Connected Tempe community ancestry project, showing people from all over the world, through an innovative app, how they are related to early residents. Mckell Keeney has been a Search Angel for adoptees and those with unknown parentage since 2016, helping hundreds of people build trees using DNA matches to discover their biological relatives. Mckell enjoys serving in her community, helping people build connection with volunteer opportunities on JustServe.org. She is the Communication Director for the Tempe region of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. In 2022, Mckell completed an in-depth course in Investigative Genetic Genealogy in Denver, Colorado, taught by Joan Hanlon of United Data Connect and the DNA Doe Project. Mckell has spoken at numerous genealogy conferences, including the 2021 Southern California Genetic Genealogy Jamboree and RootsTech for the past three years. She will be facilitating a panel for RootsTech 2023 on Investigative Genetic Genealogy, and she is a RootsTech Ambassador.