Wendy Designs for Social Impact in Marion, IN

Wendy Puffer, originally from South Korea, has lived in the U.S. most of her life, and has resided in Marion, IN, since 1991. Her husband, Keith, had landed a career with Indiana Wesleyan University which took them to Marion from Chicago. Wendy has a vast design background and also developed a rich portfolio with IWU. She is the co-founder and CEO of Marion Design Co., a community-based studio with a strong pulse in the downtown, birthed in 2016 by a group of passionate professors who wanted to help Marion thrive.

"I wanted to connect students with our city," Wendy had explained in a 2018 interview when she was named, "Champion of the Month," by the City of Marion. "The more engaged I was, the more awestruck I became of Marion's beauty."

In 2023, Wendy expressed that Marion (and the surrounding county) has a wealth of opportunities and toolboxes.

She reflected, "I love the impact I see in our community as a result of having two universities and a community campus whose faculty engage their students with their neighbors. I also love the immediate satisfaction that's easy to experience in a town where people value intentional ideas that can be implemented with visible results!"