Marla Branden

Marla grew up on a small farm north of Audubon, Minn., with 2 brothers and 2 sisters. She spent a lot of time at her grandparents’ farm near Hawley, Minn., and grew to love nature and appreciate the smell and warmth of a wood stove.

Marla entered the world of banking as a part-time teller while going to college in 1984. She proceeded to graduate from North Dakota State University with a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration. After working in many different roles at the bank – from customer service manager to business analyst and several things in between – Marla retired from U.S. Bank in 2021 after an admirable career of 30+ years.

Marla truly believes that owning a home is the best financial decision one can make. Living in “lakes country” for most of her life, she has seen many changes over the past several years in the volume of homes available in the area and is excited to use the skills she has learned over her career to help clients find their dream home.

She is married to her husband, Todd, who held a 42-year career with the North Dakota Air National Guard. They have a son, Nate (who also works at the Air National Guard), and a daughter, Victoria. They also have laying hens, several pheasants and a yellow lab named Stella. Outside of work, Marla enjoys gardening (both vegetables and flowers), traveling and fishing at the Lake of the Woods.

Marla’s WHY is her family, including the extended “family” she has created over the years. She feels very fortunate to have had many career opportunities and met many great people along the way.

Fun fact: When she was 18 years old, Marla was a foreign exchange student and spent a year in Belgium. It was truly a life changing experience – transforming how she looks at life and people.