Celebrating the Advocate
Join the 2026 Preservation in Action honorees for a virtual roundtable on their work championing record preservation and access. In their own words, they'll discuss their advocacy, the state of records access today, and how family historians can get involved.
- Jan Alpert, Chair, Records Preservation and Access Coalition
- Alex Calzareth, Director, Reclaim the Records
- Alec Ferretti, Director, Association of Professional Genealogists
Moderated by Jennifer Davis, NYG&B Vice President, Advancement and Membership. Audience questions are welcome.
About Preservation in Action
Each year, the NYG&B’s Preservation in Action series spotlights leaders and trailblazers whose work has a lasting impact on the genealogy and family history field. The 2026 theme, “Celebrating the Advocate,” honors those who have championed advocacy on behalf of the genealogy community, particularly on record preservation and access, and whose work has resulted in real policy wins for researchers.
This is a free online webinar, but registration is required.
Meet the 2026 Honorees
Jan Alpert, FNGS, has been researching her family since 1981, with roots mostly in New England, New York, Pennsylvania, and the Midwest. After a 35-year career in the title insurance industry, she served as secretary (2004–2006) and then president (2006–2010) of the National Genealogical Society (NGS), and later chaired the NGS Conference Committee from 2019 through 2023. Jan began serving on the Records Preservation and Access Coalition (RPAC) in 2007 as the NGS representative and has been RPAC Chair since 2014. She is currently Co-Chair of the Veterans Bounty Land Records Project (2024–2027), a 250th anniversary records preservation and access project.
Read a Q&A with Ms. Alpert to learn more about her advocacy and contributions to the field.
Alex Calzareth is a professional genealogist and CPA based in New York City, originally from Long Island. He began researching almost 30 years ago and focuses on New York City, Southwest Germany, the Czech Republic, and Southern Italy. As a director of Reclaim the Records, Alex uses freedom of information laws to release important datasets and examine official actions affecting records access. He is president of the Jewish Genealogy Society of Long Island and Research Director for JewishGen’s Germany Research Division.
Read a Q&A with Mr. Calzareth to learn more about his advocacy and contributions to the field.
Alec Ferretti is a New York City-based professional genealogist and a nationally recognized advocate for public access to historical vital records. His practice centers on 20th-century immigrant families, where timely access to birth, marriage, and death records is essential. Alec bridges policy and practice by working with legislators to craft legislation, using freedom of information laws, and helping researchers obtain the records they are entitled to by law. He is President of the New York Genealogy & Technology Group and serves on the boards of the Association of Professional Genealogists, where he leads its advocacy efforts, and Reclaim the Records, where he heads content acquisition.
Read a Q&A with Mr. Ferretti to learn more about his advocacy and contributions to the field.
Learn more about Preservation in Action honorees and themes from previous years.