shanna lund
Shanna Lund is a professional genealogist, specializing in the Nordic countries and Midwestern United States.
My genealogy journey first started during an elementary school project to build my family tree. My mom pulled out the 1972 family book compiled by a family genealogist. It was confusing to me then, but it piqued my interest. Fast forward to the year 2006 when I moved from a small town in Minnesota to Los Angeles for college. I was invited to my roommate’s home for Thanksgiving and I wanted to bring lefse (a Norwegian flatbread) to share. When I asked the grocer where I could find lefse, he just looked at me dumbfounded. I began to understand how Nordic I had been without realizing it. Since I was no longer surrounded by Norwegian churches, Swedish meatballs, lutefisk, and lefse, I started to seek out those things.
finding my roots
In 2009, I became friends with Jessica Brustad, who later became a contestant and finalist on Season 3 of “Alt For Norge,” a Norwegian reality TV competition show that took Americans with Norwegian roots to Norway for the first time. Seeing her grow in her love for Norway only inspired me all the more.
By 2018, I finally sat down to do my own family research. Using the 1972 family book as my guide, I started building my family tree. And with the help of some Norwegian friends, I was able to find my living Norwegian relatives as well as the location of the Sletten farm where we got our surname! A year later, my husband and I traveled to that farm, met my Norwegian friends and family in person, and had one of the best trips of our lives. We were even fortunate enough to find the gravestone of my 3rd great grandparents, still standing after 118 years!
career change
What once was a hobby became a profession, and now it is my dream to help others find their own family stories and plan life-changing trips. My specialty is in the Nordic countries and Midwestern USA states, but I am open to helping anyone from anywhere. Contact me so I can help you on your journey!