Wendy Thomas

Wendy Thomas is a native of Williamson, West Virginia, who attended Marshall University. She worked for AEP for two years before completing her bachelor’s degree at Marshall in elementary education.  She continued her studies and earned her master’s degree in education.

She retired from Cabell County Schools with 35 years of service. Thomas has held the positions of elementary school teacher; supervisor of clinical experiences at Marshall University; teacher/lecturer at Marshall University’s College of Education; and former trustee of the Huntington Museum of Art.

Thomas serves as a member of several civic and service organizations, which include chair of the Huntington Housing Authority, member of the Huntington Fairfield Alliance, co-president of the Huntington Area League of Women Voters, trustee of the Cabell County Public Library, member of the NAACP, charter member of the Huntington Alumnae Chapter of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., and member of the Huntington chapter of The Links.  She also is a former trustee of the Huntington Museum of Art and a United Way board member.

She is one of the co-founders of the annual Community Scholarship Forum; is the organizer of the annual Go Red for Women Forum and organizer of the Community Black History Bowl. In 2021, Thomas was appointed to the West Virginia Suffragist Memorial Committee by Governor Jim Justice. She is one of the founders of the Marshall University Black Alumni Association and chair of the Centennial Celebration of the 19^th Amendment.

Thomas previously was appointed to the West Virginia Women’s Commission from 1993 until 2008, serving as the chair from 1999 until 2008. While on the commission, she spearheaded the research and publication of the book, “West Virginia’s African American Women of Distinction.”

Most recently, she received the Focus Award from the Cabell Huntington Hospital Women’s Philanthropy Society, the Governor’s Civil Rights Award and The Herald-Dispatch Zack Binkley Award for Community Service.