Malissa Ruffner, CG, holds degrees in law and library science. After working in a variety of fields, she heeded the call of genealogy in 2009, becoming a Board-Certified Genealogist® in 2014. She is the editor of the Maryland Genealogical Society Journal and has served as vice-president of the Maryland Genealogy Society. She is the director of the Genealogical Institute on Federal Records, held every summer at the National Archives in Washington, D.C.