Chay Runnels

Dr. Chay Runnels specializes in travel and tourism, destination marketing and customer service. She served as the program coordinator for hospitality and co-coordinator for the graduate program until summer 2020, when she was named interim director of the School of Human Sciences.

Before beginning her career at SFA, she served for five years as the Texas Forest Trail regional coordinator. During that time, the organization received the President’s Preserve America Award for heritage tourism.

Runnels is a board member of the Texas Travel Alliance and works with tourism organizations around the state, assisting in customer service training. She has presented on heritage tourism and historic preservation at state and national conferences.

Runnels earned her Bachelor of Arts and Master of Science from the University of Texas at Austin. She holds a PhD in resource interpretation from the SFA Arthur Temple College of Forestry and Agriculture. Runnels is a certified Texas Friendly Program Trainer through the Texas AgriLife Extension.