Learn How Spitting in a Tube Can Change Everything
Tuesday, September 22, 2026, 6:30 pm – Yarborough Branch of APL, 2200 Hancock Dr, Austin 78756. Hybrid.
We all love our research techniques and maybe try to stay away from DNA testing, but have you been wondering how it can actually help you in your research? Lezlee Liljenberg, author of If You Only Knew: Navigating DNA Surprises and The NPE World (Not-Parent Expected), will be sharing her personal discovery through DNA testing and how test results can be helpful in your genealogy research. Want to know more about centimorgans? She will discuss this and much, much more.
About our Speaker:
Lezlee Liljenberg is an award-winning entrepreneur, insurance expert witness, and author on a mission to help others navigate DNA surprises and the discovery of true identities.
After building a successful commercial real estate and insurance career over 18 years—scaling her agency to over $6 million in revenue before selling it—Lezlee faced a life-altering personal discovery. For 30 years, she sensed discrepancies in her past, which an Ancestry test only deepened. After years of dead ends, a 2020 23andMe test at her brother’s urging completely upended her world. By 2021, she discovered her biological family. Navigating this new reality brought pain, but more importantly, a profound love and acceptance that outweighed the hurt.
As part of the rapidly growing “Not-Parent Expected” (NPE) community, Lezlee shares her story of love, loss, and the pursuit of truth to let others know they are not alone. She believes age should never hold you back from new adventures, and that no matter our background, we are all in this thing called life together.
Lezlee holds a BA in Journalism/Public Relations and an MA in Political Science/Public Administration from the University of Texas at Arlington. She has published two books and numerous articles, including her memoir, If You Only Knew—A DNA Journey, available on Amazon and Kindle. Connect with her blog at www.iamlezlee.com.
Now is the time to renew your membership with AGS in 2026. Our memberships are based on the calendar year: January 1, 2026 – December 31, 2026.
Annual dues remain the same as last year:
$35 – Individual Membership
$50 – Family Membership (two people residing in the same household) ,br.
$500 – Lifetime Membership
Benefits of membership include:
- Monthly newsletter filled with helpful tips.
- Access to the AGS website’s
- Members-Only Portal
- Meeting presentation videos
- Select speaker handouts
- AGS Board Minutes, plus much more!
Need more reasons to join? Check out a sampling of some of the last years of presentations, many recorded and available behind the member wall!
July 2025 – Revolutionary Choices: Exploring Loyalist and Patriot Roots at 250 Years – Kathryn Lake Hogan
June 2025 – Translating, Transcribing and Summarizing Documents Using AI – Thomas MacEntee
April 2025 – Organizing Your Ancestors: From Ancestral Mess to Historical Success – Jennifer Lava
March 2025 – Genealogical Ephemera – Jenna Cooper
January 2025 – From Hobby to Profession -Teresa Devine
November 2024 – Facts & Fables: Crafting Your Family Narrative – Kate Penney Howard
October 2024 – Researching Your Family History at the Clayton Library – Carl Smith
September 2024 – DNA Doe Project – Rhonda Kevorkian
June/July 2024 -WikiTree Basics pt I & II – Sarah Kroh
April 2024 – AI & Genealogy: Trouble Ahead? – Thomas MacEntee
March 2024 – Roll Call! Researching Your Veteran Ancestors: Civil War, WWI and WWII – Melanie McComb
February 2024 – European Immigrant Ancestors – Nancy Loe
January 2024 – It Might Be Time…To Write That Book – Shirley Salzmann Meyer
And so much more!
The Austin Genealogical Society gives you the tools to be a better genealogist.
• SIGs: AGS had several special interest groups (SIGs) that met regularly, and we launch new ones as our members want them. You can find notifications of DNA North at their Facebook page, Capital Area DNA SIG. If you are interested in others, or want to help with starting one, let us know!
• Monthly Membership Meetings: We showcase an expert on genealogical research methods and new technology. All presentations are designed to help our members become better genealogists.
Meetings are typically held on the 4th Tuesday evening of each month.
We are currently meeting in a hybrid model, with rotating locations around Austin and via Zoom.
• Research Trips: Further your research by visiting genealogy libraries and archives across the US. We had a successful trip to the Clayton (Family History Research Center at the Clayton Library Campus) in Houston on a Saturday in July 2025 and are planning a trip to the Family Search Library in Salt Lake City, Utah from October 11-17, 2026. If you’re interested in joining us, sign up HERE or contact us at communications@austingenealogicalsociety.org. We look forward to more trips in the future!
• Seminars: We bring in known experts for an extended seminar. In October 2025, we welcomed Blaine Bettinger for a hybrid full-day seminar and are currently thinking about our next event in 2027.
Visitors are always welcome at any of our meetings. So please come, and bring a friend!