Mara Boggs

Mara Boggs is the new President & CEO of the Charleston Area Alliance, where she is focused on innovative and collaborative approaches that foster growth and attract people and development to Kanawha County. She joins the Alliance after completing 25 years of public service in the active-duty military and as congressional staff, where she focused on bringing opportunities to WV.

Mara Boggs is originally from Keyser, West Virginia. She enlisted in the Army Reserves in 1994 at age 18 while a freshman at WVU. After graduating as a Distinguished Military Graduate from WVU Army ROTC in 1998, she entered the Army as an Engineer officer and spent thirteen years in the active Army, primarily in combat units, serving in the 82nd Airborne Division and the 1st Cavalry Division. She holds various military awards including the Bronze Star, the Senior Jumpmaster Badge, and the Combat Action Badge, along with various leadership awards such as the George C. Marshall award. While in the Army, Mara spent two years in combat in Iraq and traveled to Afghanistan three times on shorter missions. On her second deployment to Iraq in 2006-2007 during the surge, she served as the first woman commander of her unit within the 82nd Airborne Division. Her unit earned the Army’s annual award for being the “best Engineer unit in the Army” during her command and performed over 800 combat missions. After her time with the 82nd Airborne, she was competitively selected for a Department of Defense Congressional fellowship in Washington, DC. During her military assignment in DC, she worked on a Senator’s personal staff for two years and served for an additional two years on Capitol Hill with the Army, traveling internationally with lawmakers and advising on defense and foreign policy issues. Mara left the Army with the rank of major in December 2011.

Upon leaving the Army,she joined Senator Manchin’s staff in January 2012. She served in various roles as a leader of Senator Joe Manchin’s Washington and West Virginia staffs until the end of his tenure in January 2025. During her tenure as a congressional staffer, she focused on constituent services and economic development, helping to bring jobs and federal funding to West Virginia.

Because of her public service, Mara was named a West Virginia “Wonder Woman” by WV Focus magazine in 2014, and a Sharpshooter by WV Executive Magazine in 2024, amongst other awards. She has a master’s degree in engineering management from the University of Missouri and a master’s in clinical mental health counseling from Wake Forest University. She serves on various boards, including the WV International Yeager Airport Board, CAMC Board of Trustees, Nature Conservency, Woody Williams Foundation, Capitol City Striders, Charleston Catholic Advisory Committee and is affiliated with numerous Veterans organizations including the American Legion and VFW. Mara and her family have made Charleston, WV their home since 2014. She is married to retired Army Colonel Ken Boggs, who served four deployments in Iraq or Afghanistan. Mara and Ken have two children – Arabella and Cole – who attend Charleston Catholic Middle and High School.