Register for Thursday’s webinar – Preparing a Portfolio: Applying to Become a Certified Genealogist®

LaBrenda Garrett-Nelson, JD, CG, CGL was elected as a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) in 2016 and currently serves as President. She enjoyed a 35-year career as a tax lawyer before her 2013 retirement as a partner from the big four accounting firm of EY. She is most proud of her service on the staff of the bipartisan, bicameral, Joint Committee on Taxation of the U.S. Congress where she helped to craft the historical Tax Reform Act of 1986. LaBrenda is now a full-time genealogist focused on teaching and writing. Her research centers on African American families that survived American slavery, primarily in the Carolinas. LaBrenda has published in the National Genealogical Society Quarterly, among other publications, and in 2016 she published a guide for researching African Americans in her home county in South Carolina, a book that was hailed in the Atlanta Journal Constitution’s long-running genealogy column as an important model for all counties of South Carolina and other states. LaBrenda earned a BA from John Jay College of Criminal Justice, City University of New York, and both a Law degree and a Master of Laws degree from New York University. LaBrenda is the Registrar General for the Sons and Daughters of the United States Middle Passage, a national lineage society that honors ancestors who were enslaved in the United States before 1870. She completed ProGen 13 and served as the mentor of ProGen 37. LaBrenda was the SLIG Course Coordinator for the inaugural African American track, and is also on the faculty the Genealogical Institute of Pittsburgh, the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, and the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research.

Angela Packer McGhie, CG is the coordinator for the Intermediate Genealogy course at the Institute of Genealogy and Historical Research, and the coordinator of the Advanced Evidence Analysis Practicum at the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy. She served as the administrator of the ProGen Study Program from 2008-2014 and is now on the board of directors. Angela is an instructor at the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, the Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh, and the Virtual Institute on Genealogical Research. Angela has served on the education committee of the Association of Professional Genealogists (APG) and is the past president of the National Capital Area Chapter of APG. She is a contributing author for the APG Quarterly and was honored with a formal certificate of appreciation from the Association of Professional Genealogists for her leadership and service.

Rick Sayre, CG, CGL, FUGA, is a long-time researcher and instructor in genealogical topics. Rick is also a retired colonel having served 31 years in the U.S. Army. Rick and his wife Pam coordinate the Advanced Land course and Researching in Washington, D.C., without Leaving Home offered by the Salt Lake Institute of Genealogy (SLIG) and the Advanced Land course at Genealogical Research Institute of Pittsburgh (GRIP). Rick co-coordinates with Judy Russell, JD, CG, CGL, the Law School for Genealogists at GRIP and the FHL Law Library course at SLIG. He also coordinates the Using Maps in Genealogy course at SLIG. Rick also instructs in the Advanced Methodology course offered by SLIG. He also lectures at national conferences and presents nationwide seminars. His areas of expertise encompass records of the National Archives, the Bureau of Land Management, and the Daughters of the American Revolution, including military records, land records, using maps in genealogy, urban research, and government documents. Rick is experienced in the localities of western Pennsylvania and Ohio. Rick is also a trustee of the Board for Certification of Genealogists. He is also the immediate past president of BCG.