The Board for Certification of Genealogists (BCG) is excited to announce that Thomas W. Jones, Ph.D., CG®, FASG, FNGS, FUGA, has successfully met the requirements for Certified Genetic Genealogist (CGG℠). Tom is the first Certified Genealogist to become credentialed as a CGG℠. Through the CGG℠ application process, he has demonstrated competence in using genetic evidence to solve complex genealogical problems while meeting standards for using DNA evidence.
Tom will now be adding the postnomial CGG℠ to his long list of accomplishments. Tom began pursuing his family history in 1963. That same year, in a high-school biology course, he learned about chromosomes, alleles, and base pairs, and began wondering about their applicability to identifying ancestors. In 1989 he began writing for peer-reviewed genealogy journals, where dozens of his articles appear today, including two using DNA. He received BCG certification in 1994 and has since served BCG and the broader genealogy field in many roles.
BCG launched the new CGG℠ credential effective March 1, 2024. When making the announcement, BCG President Faye Jenkins Stallings, CG®, stated, “Given the increasing use and benefit of DNA to solve genealogical problems, having such a credential supports the Board’s mission to promote competence and ethics among genealogical practitioners. It also provides the public with confidence that a practitioner’s competence in genetic genealogy has been independently evaluated.”
Any current Certified Genealogist® may submit application materials for the add-on CGG℠ credential. For more information regarding the requirements and application process, please visit BCG’s website at https://bcgcertification.org/process/app-guide/. BCG’s application to register the credential’s name, Certified Genetic Genealogist, and its acronym, CGG℠, is pending before the U.S. Trademark and Patent Office.
BCG extends its congratulations to Tom and welcomes him as the first Certified Genetic Genealogist.
The words Certified Genealogist and letters CG are registered certification marks, and the designations Certified Genetic Genealogist or CGG, and Certified Genealogical Lecturer or CGL are service marks of the Board for Certification of Genealogists®, used under license by board certificants after periodic evaluation.
