Elizabeth Shown Mills

Mills is known for her development of problem-solving methodology and her packed lectures at national conferences. She is a past president of both BCG and ASG, and edited the National Genealogical Society Quarterly for 16 years.

As an educator, she developed the Advanced Methodology track at Samford University's IGHR, taught for twelve years at the National Archives-based NIGR, and has been featured as a genealogical authority on CNN, NPR, PBS, ABC-Australia, and BBC's 20th and 30th anniversary specials on Alex Haley's Roots.

Her 500+ publications include the ground-breaking duo Professional Genealogy: Preparation, Practice & Standards and Professional Genealogy: A Manual for Researchers, Writers, Editors, Lectures and Librarians each of which she developed and co-authored with 22 other leading genealogists, the definitive guide to historical documentation Evidence Explained: Citing History Sources from Artifacts to Cyberspace, and its "briefcase edition" Evidence! Citation & Analysis for the Family Historian. In a related genre, she authored the revised edition of the now-classic socio-economic study Forgotten People: Cane River's Creoles of Color and the historical novel Isle of Canes.