DNAngels

10/15/2026

💜💚 DNAngels Volunteer Spotlight of the Week! 💚💜

This week, we're celebrating Tara Crawford!

If you've followed DNAngels for a while, you've probably seen Tara sharing stories and educating our community through our social media content. But behind that familiar smile is an incredibly talented genetic genealogist and dedicated Search Angel! 🧬

Tara's passion for genetic genealogy began in 2015 when she used DNA to solve a mystery in her own family. Since then, she's dedicated herself to helping others discover their biological roots.

🎓 A graduate of Boston University's Genealogical Principles Program, Tara brings years of research experience, exceptional investigative skills, and a genuine love for solving family mysteries.

Outside of DNAngels, Tara is a licensed cosmetologist and professional educator, a proud mom of three, and enjoys spending time with her horse, Hope.

What makes Tara so special isn't just her incredible research skills. It's her heart. She understands how life-changing these discoveries can be and approaches every case with compassion, dedication, and a commitment to the truth.

Tara, we're so fortunate to have you on our team! Thank you for sharing your talent, creativity, knowledge, and heart with DNAngels and the families we serve.

💜 Please join us in showing Tara some love and thanking her for all she does! 💚

10/14/2026

Searching for answers doesn't mean you love your family any less. Love and curiosity can exist together.

👉 Wanting to know your story is an act of understanding—not betrayal.

10/12/2026

Sometimes the newest generation opens the oldest doors. Children often welcome family with curiosity instead of history.

👉 The next generation can help build bridges where previous generations found barriers.

10/10/2026

Discovery explains yesterday—but your greatest chapters are still ahead.

👉 Knowing your past empowers you to build a stronger future.

10/09/2026

🌟 VOLUNTEER SPOTLIGHT OF THE WEEK
Celebrating Pat Dunn | Research Assistant

This week, we are so proud to celebrate Pat Dunn, one of those extraordinary volunteers who is always quietly working behind the scenes to help move a case forward. 💙

Pat’s love of genealogy goes all the way back to the 1970s, when she began researching her own family history. But when she took an AncestryDNA test in 2015, genealogy became something entirely new. Family members began asking for help understanding unknown DNA matches, then friends began asking—and before long, Pat was helping others unravel their own DNA mysteries.

Thankfully for us, that journey eventually led her to DNAngels.

Pat joined our team on August 29, 2022, bringing decades of genealogical experience, a love of research, and an incredible willingness to help wherever she is needed.

Today, Pat is the permanent research partner of Genetic Genealogist Kim R., and the two make an incredible team. They work tirelessly on behalf of their clients, seemingly never taking a break, while still finding time to help other DNAngels volunteers when they hit a difficult research problem.

And if I put out a call saying, “Can someone help me find this record?” there is a very good chance Pat will be one of the first people to raise her hand. ❤️

That is what makes Pat so special. She doesn't just research the cases assigned to her. She contributes to the entire team. Whether someone needs an unusual record tracked down, another set of eyes on a difficult family line, or some extra research assistance on the spot, Pat shows up.

When she isn't helping restore branches of family history, Pat is a lifelong New Jersey resident, mom to two married children, grandmother to two grandchildren, and companion to her faithful Irish Setter, Rosey. 🐾

Pat, thank you for more than four years of sharing your time, experience, persistence, and heart with DNAngels. The work you do may happen behind the scenes, but its impact is felt throughout our organization—and in the lives of the families we serve.

We are incredibly grateful you chose to raise your hand for this mission. 💙

Please help us celebrate Pat Dunn, our Volunteer Spotlight of the Week! 👏✨

10/07/2026

Forgiveness looks different for every journey. Healing isn't about forgetting—it's about finding peace.

👉 Healing is personal, and every path toward peace deserves respect.

10/05/2026

A mystery becomes a person the moment you learn their name.

👉 Names transform unknown stories into real human connections.

10/03/2026

Every reunion begins with one brave message. Sometimes one click changes everything.

👉 One moment of courage can open the door to a lifetime of answers.

10/02/2026

💜 Volunteer Spotlight of the Week: Kim R. 💚
This week, we’re proud to shine our DNAngels Volunteer Spotlight on Kim R., Genetic Genealogist, who has been sharing her time and talents with DNAngels since August 2022!
Kim brings a fascinating combination of analytical thinking and compassion to her work. By day, she is a management consultant who builds mathematical simulation models to tackle complex strategic challenges. As you can imagine, those problem-solving skills translate beautifully to genetic genealogy—where DNA matches, family trees, records, and sometimes a little detective work all have to come together.
Kim’s journey into genetic genealogy began when her husband purchased AncestryDNA and 23andMe tests. What started as curiosity quickly became a passion. She continued developing her skills through coursework and even brushed up on her Hebrew so she could read headstones! After successfully solving parentage cases for several DNA matches, Kim realized she had found something special: a way to combine her love of challenging puzzles with the opportunity to make a meaningful difference in someone’s life.
And her spirit of service doesn’t stop with DNAngels. Kim also volunteers as a webmaster for multiple nonprofits and serves on the board of the Lauren Dunne Astley Memorial Fund.
Kim lives in Boston with her husband and their three cats and is the proud mom of two grown children.
For more than four years, Kim has brought her intelligence, curiosity, persistence, and generous heart to DNAngels and the families we serve. Volunteers like Kim are the reason we can continue helping people find the answers they’ve spent a lifetime searching for.
Kim, thank you for choosing to share your talents with DNAngels. We are so grateful you’re part of our family! 💜💚
👏 Please help us show Kim some love in the comments!

10/01/2026

🧬 NEW DNA CONFESSIONS: “Who Am I Now?”

Candace took an AncestryDNA test for one simple reason: she wanted to learn more about her African ancestry.

She never expected it to change everything she knew about herself.

At 40 years old—and while still grieving the father she had lost only months earlier—Candace discovered that the man she had always known as Dad was not her biological father.

One DNA test suddenly revealed a life she never knew existed:

Puerto Rican roots.
A biological father she had never known.
Six new half-siblings.

And then came another discovery.

Her DNA uncovered a second family secret involving the grandfather whose last name Candace still carries.

In this deeply personal episode of DNA Confessions, Candace talks openly about what it means to discover an NPE while grieving a parent, the complicated loyalty and love she still feels for the man she will always call Dad, and what it was like to meet her biological father for the very first time.

But perhaps the hardest question isn't Who is my biological father?

It's:

Who am I now?

Candace's story isn't tied up with a perfect bow. She's still living it. Still processing it. Still figuring out where she belongs in a family story that changed overnight.

And that's exactly why she's agreed to come back one year from now and tell us where this journey has taken her.

🎥 Watch Candace's story now on DNA Confessions:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lshj3DIddOQ

💬 If you've ever experienced an NPE, unexpected DNA discovery, or a shift in your identity after testing, we'd love to hear from you in the comments.

Please share this episode. Someone out there may be asking the very same question:

“Who am I now?”

Candace took an AncestryDNA test for one simple reason: she wanted ...