Susan Mendenhall is an advocate for the vibrancy of Greater Fort Wayne and the role that philanthropy plays as a catalyst for community development. She brings fifteen years of experience in nonprofit leadership, strategic visioning and planning, fundraising, grant-making, and program development. Susan currently serves the greater Fort Wayne community as President of Arts United. Prior to joining the staff of Arts United, Susan held fund development positions at the Fort Wayne Philharmonic, served as the League of American Orchestras Development Fellow at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, and lived for a time in Bogota, Colombia. She is an active member of the Greater Fort Wayne, Inc. Board of Directors, the Northeast Indiana Regional Partnership’s Regional Opportunities Council, the Fort Wayne Public Art Commission, and Quest Club. In 2018, Susan was recognized as a “Person of the Year” by Fort Wayne Magazine. In 2015, she was honored with a “Forty Under 40” award by Greater Fort Wayne Business Weekly. Susan holds an M.A. in Philanthropic Studies from the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy and a B.S. in Public and Nonprofit Management from the Indiana University School of Public and Environmental Affairs. She lives in Fort Wayne with her husband, Derek, an engineer at Fort Wayne Metals, and daughters Claire and Heidi.

Website: https://artsunited.org/