Mandy Wallace, Artifact Recovery Technician

Mandy Wallace spent much of her youth exploring the woods, rivers, and mountains of northwest Georgia. Her life found direction when she took up whitewater kayaking in high school, later becoming a guide on the Chattooga River in college. Guiding on the Ocoee, Pigeon, and French Broad rivers further deepened her connection with Appalachian waterways. 

Early in her career, Mandy taught middle school and high school science for 11 years in both Georgia and North Carolina. She has worked primarily with at-risk youth in various school settings, including public, day treatment, and residential treatment facilities. She holds a BA in Art from Berry College and a BS in Anthropology/Archaeology from the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga. While working towards her degree at UTC, Mandy worked for a regional archaeological firm for several years, both in the lab and in the field. Her secondary passion — prehistoric southeastern archaeology — often includes her primary passion: rivers!

Prior to Hurricane Helene, Mandy worked for a local Asheville outfitter as an Afterschool Outdoor Program Director and raft guide on the French Broad River. Following the devastating flooding that resulted from the storm, Mandy jumped into cleanup mode and has not looked back since. She leads the “Found Items” program at MountainTrue — reuniting personal items found during river cleanups with their people. 

When Mandy is not working on a river, she can be found floating them with her husband, Jim (also a long-time raft guide), and their three dogs. She loves planning multiday float trips with her husband. Some of their favorites include the Rogue River in Oregon, the Buffalo River in Arkansas, and her all-time favorite, the Colorado River through the Grand Canyon. 

(828) 617-0832
 founditems@mountaintrue.org