The Council for the Advancement of Forensic Genealogy is excited to announce our two newest Associate Members – Charlotte Ware & Sylvia Cates, JD, MDA!
Charlotte is a Forensic Document Examiner who has been examining documents and testifying for 13 years. She has also been performing genealogy research for family and friends for 20 years. She has performed most of her research in Oregon and Ohio.
Charlotte earned a Masters of Science in Forensic Science and a Bachelors in Biology with a minor in Genetics. She is certified by the American Board of Forensic Document Examiners and a member of the American Society of Questioned Document Examiners.
Sylvia Cates, JD, MPA, is a public law attorney licensed to practice law in California and Washington. She also is admitted to practice law in Arizona, Washington DC, and Massachusetts. She currently works for the State of California, handling a variety of litigation and advisory matters for state officer and agencies. Previously, she was in private practice and specialized in environmental, natural resources, and Indian law matters. She spent many years working on Indian tribal land, water and mineral rights issues, and has served as an adjunct professor at the University of Arizona School of Law, where she taught a course on environmental law in Indian Country.
Sylvia has been an avid genealogical researcher for nearly 17 years. While her research has focused on her own family, she also has taken on pro bono projects. She is a 2012 graduate of Boston University’s Genealogical Research Certificate Program, and she completed the Forensic Genealogy Institute in 2013.
Her research focus is New England, particularly mid-coast Maine. But her research also takes her into numerous other regions, including Western New York; Bradford County, Pennsylvania; Michigan; Nebraska; Iowa; and the California gold country.
Sylvia is interested in land and mineral rights issues and in exploring other opportunities in the field of forensic genealogy. She loves digging around courthouses and archives and hopes to “start the clock” for certification with the Board for Certification of Genealogists in the near future.
We look forward to getting to know Charlotte and Sylvia better.