Gayle Conelly Manchin

Gayle Conelly Manchin (born June 20, 1947) is an American educator and government official who was the First Lady of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and is the current Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission. Manchin previously served as the president of the West Virginia Board of Education from 2013 to 2014 and West Virginia Secretary of Education and the Arts from 2017 until her termination in March 2018. She is the wife of former governor and current U.S. Senator Joe Manchin of West Virginia. Early life and education Manchin was raised in Beckley, West Virginia, and graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School. She received both her Bachelor of Arts in language arts and education, and a Master of Arts in reading (now known as the masters in literacy education), from West Virginia University. In 1999, she received a second master's degree in educational technology leadership from Salem International University. Career Manchin has worked as a teacher in the Marion County Public School district and a faculty member at Fairmont State University, where she established the university's inaugural Community Service Learning Program.