Fynnette Eaton

Fynnette Eaton served as a government archivist for more than 30 years, dividing her time between the U.S. National Archives and the Smithsonian Institution. She has been involved with the management of archival electronic records for more than 20 years. 

Her first experience with electronic records was as an archivist and then as branch chief for the Technical Services Branch of the Center for Electronic Records, where she was responsible for the development of the Archival Preservation System at NARA. She then became director of the Technical Services Division for the Smithsonian Institution Archives, where she developed an electronic records program for that Archives that included identifying a standard for records management application for the Technical Reference Model for use by Smithsonian Institution offices. 

In 2003, she joined the Electronic Records Archives Program as the change management officer and developed a change management program for the ERA system that is being built to preserve all types of electronic records created by the U.S. federal government. She retired from NARA in January 2007 and is now a consultant for both a bureau of the Department of Justice and the Department of State working on their responses to the Managing Government Records Directive.

Fynnette is very active in the Society of American Archivists and has participated in a variety of research projects focusing on electronic records: as a member of the American Team for InterPARES, and as a member of the Advisory Committee for both the Indiana University Electronic Records Project (1997–98) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission’s Electronic Records Research Fellowship Program (2004–2007).

She has both a bachelor's degree and master's degree in history from the University of Maryland.