Owner of Smart Not Fancy, LLC
Rae Dyer is a Root to Table board member. The owner of Smart Not Fancy, LLC, a successful small business and non-profit focused business consulting firm, Rae has multiple degrees and an MBA with over 20 years of scrupulous experience in business, management, accounting and advising.
Rae is inspired by and grateful for those she has had the privilege to create solutions alongside. She has served in many leadership, volunteer, and board positions throughout her career and is a USAF veteran. She is honored to have completed several selective leadership programs including Leadership Marion, Leadership West Virginia, and the Appalachian Leadership Institute through the Appalachian Regional Commission. A native of West Virginia, Rae is focused on her roots and the success of her local and extended Appalachian community. She believes success is not a solo art, and that, in bringing people together, we create more beneficial solutions.
Meet Rae Dyer
Rae’s life has been eclectic and rich in experiences. Driven and mission oriented, Rae has always pursued learning and personal development passionately. Foundational to developing her work ethic and pace, Rae spent her early years working on farms and in restaurants while also attending school and volunteering in her community. As a first-generation college graduate, she utilized her degrees to move to various cities across the country where her work ethic, empathy, and aptitude for learning landed her management positions from a young age.
Finding passion in Entrepreneurism
Following 9/11, Rae enlisted in the USAF as a Linguist and, after serving honorably, continued to pursue professional development and gain management experience in various fast paced industries. As Rae’s expertise grew, she realized she had a passion for entrepreneurism, which set her on a path of creating multiple successful small businesses, including consulting firms, which have given her great fulfillment through helping others find success. Now, semi-retired, Rae continues to offer consulting on a part time basis to small businesses and non-profits predominately in the agriculture, restaurant, and tourism industries in West Virginia. She finds great value in building community and, of course, in spending time with her friends and family. She also often wanders off to farm and forage amongst the Appalachian Mountains in West Virginia.
Education
Rae holds bachelor’s degrees from Hiram College (Cum Laude) in Theater, Linfield College (Summa Cum Laude) in Accounting and Human Resource Management and an MBA from West Virginia University. Rae completed the Entrepreneurial Bootcamp for Veterans, as well as the V-WISE program, through the D’Aniello IVMF at Syracuse University.