You never plan for your world to fall apart. But sometimes, the pieces land exactly where they were always meant to be.
Wendy Huffman spent decades building beautiful things. For over 20 years, she brought interiors to life—from high-end furniture design to lighting, construction planning, and full-scale interior architecture. She crafted elegant homes, stunning commercial spaces, and even film sets in Hollywood. Her work was featured, celebrated, and cherished.
But in 2013, a layoff sent her on a two-year soul-searching journey through South America with her partner, Bill Spalthoff. When she returned, she continued designing—but something had shifted.
Then, in May 2019, everything changed.
Bill was a man with a dream to visit 100 countries. With a heart full of compassion, he was mentoring teachers in Zambia when he passed away suddenly from a stroke. He had been disabled due to medical malpractice at 36, at the height of his career years earlier. Yet he chose forgiveness, curiosity, and love for people as his compass. He lived with purpose. And when Wendy lost him, she didn’t just grieve. She transformed her grief into a mission.
“I wanted to create a legacy for him. He was extraordinary. And I knew the best way to honor his spirit was to make a difference in the lives of others.”
That’s when Let’s Make The Difference was born.
Wendy launched the nonprofit from the ground up, with no roadmap—just vision, faith, and heart. Her mission? To empower refugees and underserved communities with transformative leadership training, conflict resolution, entrepreneurship, and access to education.
By 2022, she and her team were deep inside refugee camps in Kenya. In Kakuma and Kalobeyei settlements, during COVID lockdowns, they sponsored online courses to the most marginalized populations. In 2024, the violence in the camps escalated, requiring lockdowns; so the leaders wrote and led an on-the-ground course in peace and conflict resolution, sponsored by Let’s Make THE Difference (LMTD). Word spread. People came.
1,800 people showed up.
“The first day, we teach how to handle inner conflict. The pain. The grief. The hatred that builds from years of war, violence, and abuse. And how to forgive—not for others, but for yourself.”
Each participant learns to close the old book of resentment and open a new one of healing. The final day of the program? They learn how to become ambassadors of peace in their own communities, and eventually, the world.
Wendy and her small team of friends and volunteers believe that real transformation doesn’t come from handouts. It comes from self-empowerment.
“We teach them to stop waiting for someone to save them. Instead, we ask: how can you save yourself and help your community rise with you?”
And it’s working.
Wendy’s model is rooted in sustainability, from bakery skills to entrepreneurship, planting over 600 trees, and building micro-businesses. Everyone is a volunteer. Funds are raised through personal networks, grants, and heart-led partnerships. Scaling is done locally, with LMTD community leaders leading the way.
“Our focus now is curriculum. We want to train leaders to think critically, solve problems, and teach others. Conflict resolution is a life skill. We want to expand into more camps globally.”
Wendy balances this purpose-driven mission with her other full-time job: connecting executive talent to high-impact opportunities through her firm, The Brilliant Edge Agency. Whether in boardrooms or refugee camps, she is building leaders. Creating possibilities and sparking change.
“A lot of people are sleepwalking through life. They do what they ‘should’ do, and one day they wake up feeling unsatisfied. But life is short. My dad had Alzheimer’s. Near the end, he once told me, ‘I think I missed it.’ I don’t want to miss it. And I don’t want others to miss it either.”
Wendy Huffman didn’t just make peace with her pain. She turned it into purpose.
And in doing so, she’s helping thousands rediscover the power within themselves—to rebuild, to lead, and to make a difference.
A Life That Keeps Expanding
With the foundation of Let’s Make THE Difference becoming more stable, Wendy is looking forward to spending more time with her family, and enjoying her grandchildren in California—those precious moments have not been enough over the past years while building peace in some of the world’s hardest-hit places.
In the quiet spaces between her missions, Wendy also paints. Her artwork, like her life, keeps evolving, and is now finding a growing audience. Her original art and reproductions are available online, and any profit goes to the nonprofit.
Her upcoming book, Happily After, arrives this June. It’s a reflection on the reality of life’s struggles, and to prepare to not just to survive the storms, but to grow stronger because of them.
“Life will keep life-ing,” she often says. “And it’s not personal. You just have to become resilient.”
Learn more or support Wendy’s work at letsmakethedifference.org
