About Us

Relative Roots is operated by Elise Friedman and is based out of Boca Raton, Florida, USA.


Elise Friedman is a professional genealogist, specializing in Jewish genealogy, genetic genealogy, and technology. She has given lectures and workshops at a variety of venues, from local genealogy and community meetings to national and international genealogy conferences. She has researched her own family history for more than 10 years, and has roots in Belarus, Poland, Russia and the former Galicia region of Ukraine.

Ms. Friedman is very active in the field of genetic genealogy, where she works as a consultant for Family Tree DNA, volunteers as JewishGen’s DNA Projects Coordinator, serves as volunteer administrator for several DNA projects, and co-authored a genetic genealogy case study that was published in the AVOTAYNU and FORUM genealogy journals.

Ms. Friedman is a member of the Association of Professional Genealogists, Genealogical Speakers Guild, International Society of Genetic Genealogy and Jewish Genealogical Society of Palm Beach County. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Computer Engineering from The Pennsylvania State University, and is a former Information Technology professional.

Testimonials

“Elise has been of inordinate help to me with both computer and genealogy issues, many of which are intertwined at this time. I expect that in the near future almost every aspect of genealogical research will be accessible by computer and am confident that Elise will be there to help me. I highly recommend her services, along with her very pleasant manner and outstanding knowledge.”

~ C.R., Delray Beach, FL