DR. MANDY J. WRISTON

Dr. Wriston is a native Appalachian professional with almost two decades of experience in the Travel and Tourism Industry. Her early career occupations include Group Tour and Grant Specialist for the Southern West Virginia Convention and Visitors Bureau. She was Director of Operation and Finance for the Raleigh County Recreation Authority. Most recently she was coordinator for West Virginia’s largest one day extreme sport festival Official Bridge Day. Her experience in Higher Education includes several areas: Dean of Students and Campus Life, Coordinator Doctor of Executive Leadership Program, and Assistant Dean of Mountain State University Academy.

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She is currently the owner of Appalachian Queen Consulting and Public Relations LLC. In addition, she volunteers as consultant and mentor for Leadership Fayette County, a non-profit youth leadership program in West Virginia. Her dissertation A Case Study of How Leaders in an Appalachian County View Themselves in a Global Society recently won the 2021 Dissertation of the Year Award for Higher Education Administration from Indiana Institute of Technology.  

 

Dr. Wriston earned her degrees from:

• PhD, Global Leadership, Indiana Tech, Fort Wayne, IN, 2021 DISSERTATION: A Case Study of How Leaders in an Appalachian County View Themselves in a Global Society

• MS, Strategic Leadership, Mountain State University, Beckley, WV

• BS, Travel Industry Management, Concord College, Athens WV

 

Dr. Wriston has certificates of completion from:

• Leadership West Virginia (Leadership Development Program for West Virginia professionals)

 

Dr. Wriston has presented:

• Keynote speaker, Leadership Fayette County, graduating class of 2020

• Research findings Leadership Fayette County Board of Directors, 2021

• Diversity, Equity, & Inclusion Summit poster presentation,

International Leadership Association, 2021

• Keynote speaker, Leadership Fayette County, graduating class of 2022 (Encore)

• Keynote presentation for 1st WV Paranormal Convention 2022

 

Professional Affiliations:

• International Leadership Association

• Appalachian Studies Association (Reviewer)

• Co-authored article on blog page: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Appalachians: How DEI Looks in Appalachia

• Appalachian Queen Podcast also on Apple and Google Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon, Stitcher, and more.