DNA Education

We help you decode your DNA and make it fun to find your family and their stories.

You have questions about your DNA results? We have answers.

We help you use your DNA results to connect with your roots and find your family.

Have you taken a DNA test yet?
YES
What’s next?
NO
Which test?

Everyone deserves to know who they are and where they came from.

DNA CAN HELP.

But DNA can be…

We teach you to DO the DNA confidently and accurately.
And we make it FUN!

Stop wondering. Stop spinning your wheels.
It’s time to find out what your DNA test is really telling you.

Really?! Yes! Identify unknown ancestors and fill in empty spots on your family tree.

Connect with genetic relatives and learn more about your birth roots.
Learn about DNA Courses

See what those DNA ethnicity percentages are really telling you.

“When I discover who I am, I’ll be free.”

Ralph Ellison, The Invisible Man

What You’ll Get
from Your DNA Guide

Get clear explanations you can actually understand

Follow step-by-step plans for exploring your questions

Know you are doing it right

How to DO the DNA with Us

You COULD spend hours learning things about DNA
that won’t actually help answer your questions.

Not with us! We help you figure out what you want to know–and how to use DNA to get from here to there.

We save you time, money and frustration while helping you gain insights into your roots.

Get started! Explore DNA for family history with our free webinars and mini-courses

GO

Learn your way around your DNA test results at Ancestry, MyHeritage, 23andMe and FTDNA–just $39

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Learn to use DNA to find unknown relatives with Your DNA Guide–the Book from $17

GO

Master specific DNA skills and tools with hands-on Courses and Workshops from $97

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We do DNA education right. Here’s what makes the difference.

To make your own DNA discoveries accurately and confidently, you need instruction designed for the way adults learn best.

Our Proven SPIN Process Makes You a Confident Learner

Our Academy Courses and Workshops follow our signature SPIN learning process, which means you get interactive, supportive learning for your specific DNA goals. Our SPIN process means you:

  • Study with expert teachers who break the science down into everyday language and step-by-step instruction–and give you time to process what you learn
  • Practice on guided activities, with exercises and repetition so you can master new concepts
  • Implement what you learn with your own DNA results, and get
  • Next Steps based on your discoveries and goals–so you can keep building on your knowledge and skills!

We also offer get-started solutions you can use to advance your learning independently: our popular DNA Testing Company Tours and Your DNA Guide–the Book.

Learn about Our DNA Courses

Our teaching methods WORK–here’s what people are saying about Your DNA Guide

“If you’re just starting your AncestryDNA journey, I would highly recommend starting it here [with our AncestryDNA Tour]. I think you’ll find this course well worth the price and time you invest in it. I really enjoyed her straightforward and fun demeanor she displays as she teaches.”

-Barbara Hutchinson

“I was really impressed with the FamilyTreeDNA Tour I just finished! I thought it was going to be an easy overview of all the buttons to push on the site. But it was truly an in-depth look. Thank you!”

-Candice Steelman

“I have helped 13 other people solve their family tree mysteries using the steps in Your DNA Guide–the Book. Hands down it is amazing :)”

-Christine

“All that you covered in the Finding Living Relatives Course helped me to figure out who [two of my mystery matches] actually ARE, to find them online, etc. and to get further in the hunt with respect to them…. I have chosen to message both…and your coaching about wording to do so was VERY HELPFUL!!”

-Kris L.

 

“Thank you for the WATO Course. I have been trying to work with WATO for awhile and the [other] courses I’ve taken on WATO don’t come close to the understanding and usability that I’ve gained in a few short days just by taking your course.”

-Clay Brenke

“After taking the Shared Matches Matches Course…it took me all of 3 hours to find [my cousin’s] biological mom–I couldn’t have done it without what I learned in the Shared Matches of Matches course!”

-Meredith Johanson

“While trying to solve my own family mystery, I learned one of my father’s close matches was adopted. I followed all the steps from the [DNA Skills Workshop] course and in 24 hours had solved the mystery of who BOTH of his parents were! Woohoo! This was amazing!”

-Jo Roth

“I found my 3x great grandparents! The DNA Skills Workshop helped me identify a distant match whose family tree is packed with Polish records that are not online anywhere—and the tree identified my missing ancestors.”

-Ann Greitzer

“The YDNA for Genealogy Course was great: love the pacing, the style, the humour, and the down-to earth advice. My biggest win was digging into the family project info and actually making use of those big tables of data–and finding connections between matches I hadn’t made sense of before!”

-Greg

“Hands down, Diahan Southard’s Endogamy & DNA 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.”

– Colleen Robledo Greene, MLIS, genealogy educator

“I used your methods to knock down two brick walls that everyone else had worked on for 50+ years and had finally given up on. When I solved one brick wall, the second one was a lot easier….I can never thank you enough.”

-Bill Scroggin

“For about 4-5 years now I’ve been trying to wrap my head around DNA….You make it all so simple – so easy. I felt like you were holding my hand and whispering, ‘You can do it, Susie . . . I know you can do this!’”

-Susie Haenisch

“Your ability to communicate DNA information in plain English makes you unique and I greatly appreciate that as I am not science oriented.”

-Ruth Ann Hager

As Seen On

About Your DNA Guide

Our company founder, Diahan Southard, has been helping people use DNA to explore their roots for over 25 years. She started her career at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation, which created the DNA database that became AncestryDNA. After witnessing the power of DNA for family history–and the difficulties people face in using it effectively–she launched a pioneering career in DNA education.

Diahan teaches genetic genealogy to audiences around the world. She appears on popular genealogy podcasts and is a DNA columnist for Family Tree Magazine. At Your DNA Guide, she created the signature SPIN learning process (Study, Practice, Implement, Next Steps) that fuels new skills, confidence, and discovery. Her teaching style makes DNA exciting, relevant, and accessible–even for non-scientists. Read more about us.

What should you do next with your DNA test results?

Get our free email series with 5 steps you can take now to put your DNA to work exploring your family history questions.

Yes, Please!