FHACT welcomes a new Education Team

After many years of hard work and dedicated service, the current Education Team is now passing on the baton. We would like to thank Sue Pillans and Michele Rainger, whose skill, commitment, and steady leadership have shaped and strengthened the education program throughout their tenure. We extend our thanks to them both as they move on to other work and opportunities within the Society.

We are pleased to announce the appointment of our new Education Team, who will guide and support the Society’s learning initiatives in the year ahead.  Members Jo Callaghan and Sue Stocklmayer bring a range of experience in family history research. 

Jo has been researching her own family history since she was a teen, when she inherited a shoebox of sepia photographs and was mesmerised by familial connections through time. Several decades later, Jo now works as a professional genealogist. Along the way she’s received a lot of great guidance, education and help from others. She is eager to pay that forward by helping others to learn how to be a ‘good’ family historian.

Sue is an amateur genealogist who has been researching friends and family for more than twenty years. Her main focus has been on England, Wales and Scotland. She is hoping that she will be able to share some of the triumphs (and frustrations!) as she takes part in the Education Team programs in 2026, helping others to move forward with their own stories.

The team will be responsible for developing our program of talks, workshops, and learning events, as well as exploring new ways to make family history accessible to researchers at every stage. Their combined expertise will help us continue to grow as a welcoming, knowledgeable, and forward-looking Society.

We look forward to hearing more about the programs and events they have planned for 2026, which promise to offer exciting new opportunities for our members.