OWNER

PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, VIRGINIA

FORENSIC GENEALOGIST

Hundreds of historical and genealogical client projects completed since 2015. Active 5-year cooperation agreement to conduct heir research of Holocaust victims to restore property rights in Poland. Actively involved in ongoing community history and individual family history projects. Currently serves as a Director on the national board of the Association for Professional Genealogists. Previously served as Conference Chair, Fairfax (Virginia) Genealogical Society from 2017-2020.

BACKGROUND: Seventeen years in the federal government as a Russian linguist, Senior Analyst, Senior Professional Staff Member for the U.S. House of Representatives Intelligence Committee and the Vice Deputy Chief Financial Executive for Counterintelligence and Human Intelligence at the Defense Intelligence Agency. Previous positions included newspaper reporter, radio news anchor, and corporate accounts receivable manager for an international shipping firm.

PRINCIPAL RESEARCHER, MARYLAND

Transitioned to Backstories in October 2022. Instrumental contributions to celebrity family research, community based project focused on reparations, and early 19th century research in Maryland and Pennsylvania.

Graduate of 14-month ProGen 55 . Holds a Certificate in Genealogical Research from Boston University’s Center for Professional Education. Completed the Genealogical Research Institute on Federal Records (GenFed). Experience with research in the National Archives and Records Administration I and II (Washington, DC and College Park, MD) and unique experience with the special collections of Swarthmore College (Quaker records) and Gettysburg College. Geographically situated to access local, state and national repositories from Washington, DC to Maryland to southeastern Pennsylvania. Shawna serves as a Director At Large on the board of the Maryland Genealogical Society.

BACKGROUND: Transitioned to genealogy as a profession from a career in communications and marketing.

RESEARCH ASSOCIATE

Sarah has been researching her own family for twenty years. She has a Master’s in Communications and Disorders from the University of Kentucky. To prepare for entering the field of professional genealogy, she has completed courses at Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy, the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh and the NOKFinders (Next of Kin) Academy. She has volunteered as a DNA Search Angel to help adoptees find their biological parents. She lives near the State Archives of Pennsylvania and makes it possible for us to access many records pertinent to that state. She is the current president of the Mid-Atlantic Chapter of the Association of Professional Genealogists. She currently assists with family history projects as well as community projects.