RootsTech Innovator Summit

Chris Dancy, the "World's Most Quantified Man," to Kick-off Innovator Summit Preconference at RootsTech

Salt Lake City, Utah — The RootsTech family history and technology conference is getting a jump-start a day early with Innovator Summit, a half-day event featuring Chris Dancy, “The World’s Most Quantified Man.” The event will be held on Wednesday, February 5, 2014, from 11:00 AM to 5:30 PM, at the Salt Palace in Salt Lake City, Utah, USA.

Debuting in 2014, Innovator Summit builds off of what was formerly known as the RootsTech Developer Day and is focused on expanding technology and business opportunities that leverage family history data. Speakers such as Dancy and classes throughout the day will create a unique opportunity for software developers, entrepreneurs, and technology business leaders to network, explore and influence family history innovation.

Dancy serves as a director in the office of the chief technology officer of BMC Software and has been featured in WIRED, TED NYC 2013, PBS, and Dreamforce. Known as a data exhaust cartographer, Dancy keeps metrics on himself for every moment of every day. He knows the number of steps he travels in a day, his average heart rate, and the amount of food he’s eaten—every phone call, every appointment, every piece of quantifiable personal data possible, he knows it. He will kick off the day with his keynote address titled, “Facebook of the Dead.”

By bringing in keynote speakers such as Dancy, Innovator Summit aims to inspire new ideas, new discussions, and new connections that will drive technology and business opportunities both inside and outside the traditional genealogy marketplace. “We want to bring technology thought leaders, innovation experts, and entrepreneurs to the discussion of what’s happening in family history,” said Thom Reed, a marketing manager with RootsTech. “Innovator Summit creates a new venue to showcase innovative ideas and foster collaboration in the genealogy space.”

There will be 16 Innovator Summit classes on Wednesday, February 5, as well as 15 additional classes offered during the remainder of RootsTech (Thursday, February 6 through Saturday, February 8), which is expected to draw over 9,000 attendees. In addition to Dancy, other business and technology speakers at Innovator Summit include:

• John Spottiswood, executive vice president of business and corporate development at Inflection LLC (the parent of company of Archives.com, which was sold to Ancestry.com for $100 million).
• Cydni Tetro, entrepreneur in residence at Disney and cofounder and executive director of the Women Tech Council.
• Jesse Stay, social and growth strategies consultant for Stay N' Alive Productions, LLC, former director of digital media for Deseret Digital Media and author of Google+ Marketing for Dummies.

One of the most popular elements of Innovator Summit is the annual Developer Challenge. New apps, software, or other products are unveiled, and three winners will receive cash prizes and the chance to show their winning entries to media, bloggers, and RootsTech attendees. Past winners, such as Tammy Hepps of Treelines.com, have gone on to successfully launch their products.

For more information about Innovator Summit or to get registered for the conference, please visit http://rootstech.org/innovator.

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About RootsTech

RootsTech is a unique global family history event, where people of all ages learn to discover and share their family stories and connections through technology. The first annual conference was held in 2011, in Salt Lake City, Utah. Hosted by FamilySearch and sponsored by leading genealogical organizations, the conference includes hands-on demonstrations and forums to provide a highly interactive environment and accelerate learning.