Diahan Southard brings an energy that pulls people in, but it's her gift for making sciency topics feel understandable—and full of possibility—that keeps them leaning forward.

Diahan has spent more than twenty-five years helping people understand themselves through the unexpected partnership of genetics and family experience. A pioneer in the early days of genetic genealogy—back when she helped build one of the first DNA–family history databases at the Sorenson Molecular Genealogy Foundation—she quickly realized her real gift wasn’t just the science. It was translating the science so clearly, and with so much heart, that anyone could understand it.

As the host of the PBS special Your DNA Secrets Revealed and the founder both of Your DNA Guide and 8421, Diahan speaks to audiences hungry for identity, purpose, and authentic belonging. Whether she’s teaching grandparents, educators, or the rising generation, she brings an in-your-face warmth that makes people feel like they’ve known her forever—and leaves them believing in their own potential. Her talks blend genetics, story, and so much enthusiasm that you can practically feel your shoulders dropping as complicated ideas suddenly make sense.

What Diahan ultimately wants people to know is simple: your DNA is part of your story, but not the end of it. You have inherited strengths—and you get to decide how you use them.

Offstage, she’s married to the best husband in the world, cheering on three children who are crushing the adulting thing, and proving (with zero hesitation) that she can still land a perfect cartwheel.