Gayle Heather Conelly, an American educator and government official is the wife of U.S. Senator Joe Manchin.
Born June 20, 1947, and raised in Beckley, West Virginia, Gayle Conelly graduated from Woodrow Wilson High School.
She obtained 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.
Conelly 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.
Gayle Conelly was the First Lady of West Virginia from 2005 to 2010 and is the current Federal Co-Chair of the Appalachian Regional Commission.
She 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.
Gayle Conelly and Joe Manchin married on August 5, 1967, and their bond is still solid.
The couple has three children: Heather Manchin Bresch, Joseph IV Manchin, and Brooke Manchin.