Michael A. Willis is an award-winning author, speaker, consultant, blogger and instructor with 25 years’ experience as a genealogist. He specializes in Louisiana research primarily East Baton Rouge, East & West Feliciana, Orleans and Terrebonne parishes.

In October of 2025, Michael won the International Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society Book Award for his first published book, Finding Binkey, which is the first volume of his book series entitled, When Your Ancestors Choose You.  

Michael appeared on CBS13’s Good Day Sacramento (CW31) in 2018, 2019, and 2025 to promote the Annual African American Family History Seminar held in Sacramento, California where he instructed genealogical workshops 10 times.

In 2017, Michael was invited to be an onsite researcher for the California Legislative Black Caucus’ (CLBC) Freedmen’s Bureau Black History event held at the California State Capitol. He successfully researched former California Assemblyman (9th District) and current Sacramento County Sherriff, Jim Cooper’s 2x great-grandparents in the Freedmen’s Bureau records.

Michael was also invited to be a speaker for the 2021 CLBC Juneteenth Celebration and Black Family History event held at the California Secretary of State. While at the event, Michael met Former California Senator Steven Bradford (35th District) who served as Chair of the CLBC and a member of California’s Task Force to Study and Develop Reparations Proposals for African Americans. The meeting resulted in Michael successfully researching Senator Braford’s maternal family tree.

In 2024, Michael collaborated with award-winning director and producer, Stuart Harmon, Chris Lodgson, lead organizer for the Coalition for a Just and Equitable California (CJEC), and the Sacramento Public Library in presenting Genealogy and Justice—community workshops throughout the greater Sacramento area focused on family genealogy and its impacts on state legislative reparations efforts.

An East Bay Area native, Michael’s inspiration in the field began when his maternal grandmother taught him to memorize seven generations of his maternal ancestry at the age of eight years old. In 2004, he went to the local Family History Center to learn how to research the names he memorized. The staff showed Michael his 3x great grandparents on an 1880 U.S. Federal census, and he was officially hooked! Since that time, Michael has documented over 5500 people on his family tree and researched his ancestry back 11 generations into the early 18th century.

Michael could not contain his enthusiasm and passion for genealogy after that day at the Sacramento Family History Library. He shared his experience with everyone within his line of vision and offered to help them. His co-worker told him her grandmother raised her. She lamented that she had no documents, pictures, or mementos in honor of her grandmother and to preserve her legacy. Michael researched her family tree and found her 7 year-old grandmother on a 1920 U.S. Federal Census. The emotion that poured out of his co-worker that day overwhelmed him. In that moment, he found his life’s purpose. From that day forward, Michael devoted himself to a life of service in genealogy.

As a lecturer and trainer, Michael has covered such topics as genetic genealogy, Freedmen’s Bureau Records, United States Colored Troops in the Civil War, Civil War widows’ pension files, writing and publishing books on genealogy, oral history and the FamilySearch Catalog. Additionally, he has written articles published in “The Baobab Tree” & “Le Raconteur,” the official journals of the African American Genealogical Society of Northern California (AAGSNC) and Le Comité des Archives de la Louisiane, Inc., respectively.

Michael is also owner and creator of michaelawills.com, a website dedicated to providing genealogical content for researchers of all experience levels including blogs and online presentations.

Michael is a member of AAGSNC where he currently serves as Chairman of the Board of Directors. He is also a member of Le Comité des Archives de la Louisiane, a non-profit genealogical support group for the Louisiana State Archives, International Afro-American Historical and Genealogical Society, and the Terrebonne Genealogical Society in Houma, Louisiana.

Michael is a proud member of Phi Beta Sigma Fraternity, Inc. and was initiated in 1993 at the University of California, Davis where he earned his Bachelor of Science degree in 2000.

Michael currently lives in Northern California with his wife and 2 children.