Staff

Susan Mendenhall is a nonprofit leader committed to strengthening the economic and cultural vitality of northeast Indiana. She serves as vice president of programs at the Don Wood Foundation, where she guides strategic investments in grants and scholarships that advance the region’s manufacturing sector, talent development pipeline, and innovation ecosystem. She previously served as president and CEO of Arts United of Greater Fort Wayne and brings nearly 20 years of experience in philanthropic strategy, community development, fundraising, and organizational leadership.

Susan is an active civic volunteer and currently serves on the Indiana Landmarks Board of Directors and its Sacred Places Committee, the Parkview Hospital Board of Directors and its Community Health Initiatives Committee, and the Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. Business Advocacy Committee. She previously served on the boards of Greater Fort Wayne, Inc., the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership Northeast Indiana Fund, and the Fort Wayne Public Art Commission.

Her contributions to northeast Indiana’s civic and cultural landscape have been recognized with several honors, including Citizen of the Year by The Journal Gazette (2021), Whatzup Magazine’s Great Eight (2020), Fort Wayne Magazine’s Person of the Year (2019), and the “Forty Under 40” Award from Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly (2015).

A committed lifelong learner, Susan is presently pursuing a graduate certificate in Public Economics & Policy at Purdue University’s Mitch Daniels School of Business. Susan holds an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a B.S. in Public Affairs - Public and Nonprofit Management from Indiana University’s O’Neill School of Public and Environmental Affairs.