Wendy Dunst

Wendy Dunst has lived in Chautauqua County for 50 years — 25 of those in Sheridan. She is running for Sheridan Town Board in November.

Dunst has navigated life here as a working mother, small business owner, caregiver, and widowed landowner. She’s running for Town Council to help Sheridan maximize its potential and plan for a future that serves residents’ needs and improves their quality of life.

Her personal and professional focus has always been on fairness, opportunity, and visionary values. Her extensive public service, which has included work group legwork, leadership positions, and collaborative relationships, has given her the experience and knowledge needed to help lead the town.

She has applied this focus widely and over the course of several decades.

While raising young children in Forestville, she served as vice president of the Forestville School Board, and on the negotiations committee for the Forestville teachers’ contract. She led the charge for the creation of a middle school framework. During this time, Dunst also served on the Chautauqua County Commission on Women’s Issues and served as a mentor for single mothers.

She entered New York state public service at age 21, working in areas of worker’s compensation insurance and corrections before culminating in a career in public higher education at SUNY Fredonia. A lifelong public education advocate, she managed the graduate application process and helped graduate students find and access the tools they needed to successfully complete their degree programs.

Wendy earned her undergraduate degree in Interdisciplinary Studies at SUNY Fredonia and her Master’s degree in Higher Education Administration at SUNY Stony Brook. Since retiring in 2022, she has been looking for an opportunity to again enter the public service arena.