#NOTE add the person object you want to attach role to... class Role < ActiveRecord::Base belongs_to :person def self.is_admin?(person) find_by_person_id_and_name(person.id, 'admin') end def self.add_admin(person) find_or_create_by_person_id_and_name(person.id, 'admin') end def self.add_spotlight(person) find_or_create_by_person_id_and_name(person.id, 'spotlight') end end