When DNA grouping fails and your match list feels like a tangled mess, you need the
Endogamy and DNA Course
Who should take the Endogamy and DNA Course?
This course is for you if typical DNA strategies for sorting your matches into separate groups haven’t worked, or if your family tree looks more like a web than branches. In other words, this course is for anyone who has identified (or strongly suspects) the presence of endogamy, multiple relationships or pedigree collapse on their family tree and wants to learn straightforward, productive DNA strategies for starting to untangle those intermingled genetic lines.
Sharon Goertzen
“Before [I was] overwhelmed about using DNA in my research. Now it's within my grasp…. This course has been a huge help in beginning to understand how to work with endogamous DNA and the various testing companies. Thank you for providing this course, and for the comments and encouragement.”
Jacqueline Rothenberg
“Before taking this class, whenever I’d look at the endless list of Ashkenazi Jewish or certain Italian matches in my research, I felt like I was diving into a lagoon filled with seaweed. The tangled muck completely obscured any ‘treasures’ that lay below the surface. Now I feel I can at least start to identify pieces of seaweed that can be cleared away. I know if I am persistent eventually some shiny gems will lead me to a bigger treasure trove in this ‘DNA lagoon.’ I recommend this class for anyone with endogamy in their trees!”
You've tried to group your DNA matches. But instead of distinct family groupings, everything overlaps. Instead of clear patterns, you see a confusing pattern of interconnected matches.
That's why we created the Endogamy and DNA course, where you'll learn straight forward strategies for when everyone seems to be related to everyone else. You're not "stuck" - but you DO need a different kind of next step.
The Endogamy and DNA Course 4-Step Plan
This Course gives you a specialized, endogamy-friendly research plan—so you don’t have to feel stuck anymore, or like you’re guessing. This Course maps out a clear process so you can start identifying Best Mystery Matches and moving forward with more confidence.
By the end of this course, you will:
- Know exactly how to identify the matches most likely to help answer your research question
- Understand how endogamy impacts your DNA and how to adjust for it
- Feel confident using the “longest segment, adjusted amount, obvious choice” method across multiple platforms
- Be equipped with tools you can use again and again
The 4-Step Plan
Count
cousins
- You will no longer be overwhelmed by a long list of matches, but instead determine which matches are most likely to help answer your research question
Find Best
Mystery Matches
- Use defined strategies to identify the "obvious choice" among your matches so you can focus on your Best Mystery Matches at each testing company
Shared Matches of Matches and specialty DNA tools
- Consider use of various tools and different testing types strategically, depending on your question
Find the Generation of Connection
- Get to work identifying exactly where to start doing genealogy for your matches, so you can transition to records-based research with confidence
Janna Helshtein Professional genealogist, DNA at Eye Level
"The strategies in the Endogamy & DNA Course shifted my whole work procedure and outlook on what good matches are and which are worth focusing on first. That was major for me."
Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS Genealogy educator
"Hands down, Diahan Southard’s Endogamy & DNA online course is the best resource I have found for really learning how to dig into understanding endogamy, its impact on your autosomal DNA matches, and how to account for it when working those matches."
Shelly Dudley
“I thoroughly enjoyed the class, meeting my Research Buddies, but most of all having a starting point to search for my Ashkenazi relatives. My goal was to understand why I have so many DNA matches without a seemingly family connection.... Now I feel more confidence in trying to locate family members using DNA. My biggest aha moment was finding paternal cousins on FTDNA. But most significant learning principle was discovering ways to find Best Mystery Matches.”
How the Endogamy and DNA Course Works
- Self-paced, online instruction
- Practice using tools at your DNA testing companies, without complicated segment analysis or spreadsheets
- Pre-recorded video tutorials, homework, and an expert-moderated chat board
- Full-length digital (PDF) workbook with classwork, homework, and research log
- Homework that provides hands-on experience with real-life case studies
- Expert coaches monitor chat for six full months; you keep access to Course during this time so you can continue to review and practice
YOUR ALWAYS-ON DNA COACH
Meet Hazel, the Research Confidence Coach. Every DNA researcher hits a wall. The question is what happens next.
Inside the YDNA for Genealogy: The Guided Edition, Coach Hazel is with you the moment you start — day or night, no waiting for office hours. Bring your specific, stuck-on case, and she'll help you reason through it the way Diahan would if she were sitting next to you.
Coach Hazel is not a generic AI. Hazel is custom-built on Your DNA Guide methodology, resources and course curriculum, so every answer is grounded in the exact system you're learning in the course, not a guess from somewhere else.
- Real Answers — Clear guidance for your unique case
- Confidence Boost — Move forward with clarity and direction
- Always in Your Corner — Support, encouragement, and expert insight, anytime
You will enjoy Coach Hazel access for the first 60 days from course purchase.
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How much does it cost?
Just $149
Payment plans available via third party apps
Debbie D.
"Of all of the courses I have taken, this one [DNA and Endogamy] has provided me with the best value for my dollar, giving me a greater practical knowledge of how to process DNA cousin results and how to properly decipher and use the information. The whole course was a light bulb moment for me and I highly recommend it."
Lisa Turentine
“Great value. My paternal family is entirely from the Azores. They lived in very small villages for at least 200 years and of course married people within their village...again and again and again. I took this class to help me better determine what my true relationships might be to people on my match list. The information learned in the class is helping me to identify which matches are my best bet for identifying where the match belongs on my tree, look for multiple relationships for each match, and not spend my time working on a match that probably cannot be accurately placed in my tree. I recommend this class to anyone with known endogamy in their family.”
Introducing Your DNA Guide
Diahan Southard, Founder and CEO of Your DNA Guide
This Course has been created by Your DNA Guide Diahan Southard, a globally-renowned genetic genealogy educator, to give you a progressive, confident and thorough learning experience. Throughout the Course, Diahan and her expert team will be checking and encouraging your progress on the chat boards.
Frequently asked questions
How is Coach Hazel different from other AI tools? Are my conversations private?
Coach Hazel isn't a general-purpose AI. She's trained on Your DNA Guide methodology and resources, including this course. That means you can ask questions about what you're learning, talk through your own DNA results, and get help applying the methods to your research.
Your conversations are private and aren't shared with other students or sold or posted publicly. Coach Hazel is powered by Anthropic, and the text and screenshots you share are sent securely to Anthropic to generate her responses. They are not used to train Anthropic's AI. The Your DNA Guide team may review conversations to improve Coach Hazel and the coaching experience.
As with any DNA research tool, we recommend sharing only the information you need for the question you're working on and avoiding unnecessary personal details about living relatives.
Can I keep using Coach Hazel after my 60 days are over?
Yes. Your course includes 60 days of access to Coach Hazel, so you can use her while you're learning and applying the course to your own research.
After those 60 days, you'll have the option to continue your access if you'd like. There’s no requirement to continue.
Do I need access to DNA test results for this course?
By the time the course starts, you should have autosomal DNA test results in hand from 23andMe, Ancestry, MyHeritage, FamilyTreeDNA or Living DNA. (The cost and ordering of a DNA test itself is not included in the course.) These can be your own test results or someone else’s, as long as that person has endogamy on their family tree and you’ve got permission to use their results and login access.
Are there any prerequisites for this course?
Come with a basic understanding of how autosomal DNA matching typically works, or patience and a desire to learn.
While taking the DNA Skills Workshop is helpful and foundational for everyone working with autosomal DNA matches, it is not required for this Course.
What technical requirements are necessary? Is there a textbook?
You’ll need a reliable internet connection for streaming the video learning sessions and for additional learning on your own time. There is no additional textbook to purchase: you’ll receive a unique Endogamy Workbook in PDF format and additional reference materials that support your learning.
I'm a reasonably advanced genetic genealogist with some experience with endogamy. Is the Endogamy & DNA Course too basic for me?
The Endogamy & DNA Course is a foundational course preparatory to learning more advanced endogamy skills. The organized approach presented in this course will provide insight into prioritizing DNA matches among the various testing companies. Even professionals who have taken this course say it’s helped them out.
Why should I take the Endogamy & DNA Course now?
There’s great demand for learning DNA workarounds for endogamy. Our unique, hands-on experience gives you straightforward strategies for FINALLY tackling endogamy more confidently and successfully–with DNA testing company tools that are ready at hand, and not too complicated.
Stacy's success story
Stacy Dicker Avenarius
“This class was a really great investment whose rewards I will continue to reap well into the future. I took it because I have endogamy on my dad's (100% Ashkenazi Jewish) side, plus multiple relationships on my mom's Sicilian side (two brothers married two sisters at the level of my maternal grandparents, so I have double 2Cs and double 2C1Rs).
I've already been able to identify numerous connections between people that had eluded me for years, including verifying that my great grandmother was who she was supposed to be…. I also just got back from the Jewish cemetery in NYC where my paternal grandparents are buried, and because of this course (and an excellent Best Mystery Match on 23&Me), I was able to legitimately identify how I'm related to all of the other people with the same last name whose gravestones were in the same section. This made my trip all the more meaningful!
I know these skills will keep helping as I make my way through my BMM list (and add more as matches continue to join the sites), and I can't wait to continue to solve the mysteries of my mysterious and endogamous family!! Thank you so much, Diahan and coaches.”
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Learn! Or your money back
I am so confident that this Course will make YOU more confident in using DNA for family history that I offer a money-back guarantee. If after 6 months from the start date of this Course, if you have have fully participated (meaning you have watched and marked “complete” each video tutorial, completed the classwork and homework, and have asked for help on the chat boards as needed) but are not more confident in this ‘using-DNA’ thing, I will refund the full cost. Read more about our refund policy.