Alys Smith is a champion for women’s leadership, education, and opportunity across Appalachia. As co-founder of the Wing 2 Wing Foundation, she helps lead transformative initiatives such as Ascend WV and the Brad and Alys Smith Outdoor Economic Development Collaborative, expanding access to education, entrepreneurship, and outdoor recreation across West Virginia.
As First Lady of Marshall University, Alys uses her platform to advance women’s empowerment and leadership development. She founded the Women Warriors Summit in 2023, an annual event that brings women together to learn, connect, and find the courage to pivot toward their true purpose in work, relationships, and personal growth. Building on this vision, she helped launch the Bold Leadership Program, which equips Marshall students – especially women – with confidence, self-awareness, and real-world leadership skills through mentorship , project creation and community engagement. In 2024, she initiated Future Women Warriors, which extends this mission to high school girls, inspiring the next generation of Appalachian women to lead with purpose and resilience.
An attorney and member of the West Virginia Bar since 2022, Alys currently serves as a Guardian ad Litem, representing the best interests of children in abuse and neglect cases. She began her legal career with the Ohio Attorney General’s Office and later practiced with firms in Ohio, Connecticut, New Jersey and as an in-house counsel for a manufacturing company in Georgia.
Deeply committed to community service, Alys serves on several boards, including the Clay Center for the Arts & Sciences, The Education Alliance, and as Co-Chair of the Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute Philanthropy Leadership Council, and The Nature Conservancy. She is serves on the board of the West Virginia First Foundation, where she helps guide innovative, community-based responses to the opioid epidemic.
Alys holds a B.S. from The Ohio State University and a J.D. from The University of Akron School of Law. A certified mediator and lifelong advocate for youth, she has served as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) and mentor for young women through multiple nonprofits focused on education and adolescent counseling.
Above all, Alys is most proud of her family – her spectacular husband, Brad, her two daughters, Payton and Devon, and her wonderful son-in-law, Kal – who inspire her every day to keep championing women and communities across West Virginia.
