Pam Slaton

Family is Pam Slaton's passion—whether it's her own or someone else's. By day, she's a wife and the mother of two teenage boys. By night, she's a genealogist who specializes in locating missing family, friends and loved ones. In 2006, she famously helped RunDMC's Darryl McDaniels find his birth mother. "It's extremely rewarding to be able to make a phone call and tell someone that their search is over," she says.

Reconnecting lost loved ones isn't just work for Pam—it's personal. She started her business after the search for her own birth mother ended badly. "I loved my family, [but] I think there's a big misconception that people search because they're lacking something," she says. "I don't understand why people don't understand that basic need to know who gave you life."