Herd Strategies

10/20/2026

: Making your health a priority can be difficult when cost stands in the way. Eskenazi Health is helping make preventive care more accessible with its free Fall Into Wellness Health and Resource Fair on Saturday, October 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Eskenazi Health Center Westside, 2732 W. Michigan St.

The fair will offer free adult flu shots, blood pressure and vision checks, and health information to help residents take a proactive role in their health, regardless of income. Taking time to check in on your health matters, even when you’re feeling fine, and this event is the perfect place to start.

Bring the family for games, prizes and giveaways, and feel free to come in costume. Find more details at https://www.eskenazihealth.edu/event/fall-into-wellness-health-and-resource-fair.

10/16/2026

: Friends of Belmont Beach invites you to the Haughville Fall Festival on Saturday, October 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. at Rev. Mozel Sanders Park. Come out for an afternoon filled with live music, food, local makers and fun for the whole family.

During the event, residents will also have the opportunity to learn about upcoming plans for the park and share ideas to help shape the future of the space.

The festival is free and open to everyone, so bring your family, connect with neighbors and share your voice.

10/07/2026

: Early voting is officially open for Hoosiers!

As of yesterday, October 6, registered Indiana voters can cast their ballots early ahead of the November 3 General Election. Early voting will remain available through noon on Monday, November 2, giving voters several weeks to make a plan and participate on a schedule that works for them.

Voting locations and hours vary by county, so check the details for your area before heading out. Learn more about early voting, including Marion County locations and hours, here: https://vote.indy.gov/early-voting/

Whether you vote today or later this month, make your plan, know where to go and make your voice heard.

09/29/2026

Environmental health shapes how we eat, live, travel and move through our neighborhoods every day. In Marion County, the Public Health Department offers programs that help support everything from food safety and housing conditions to water quality, pest control and other environmental concerns. Swipe through to see the programs available, then visit marionhealth.org/ to learn more.

Want to take a deeper dive into how your ZIP code affects your overall health? Listen to our latest episode of How They See Us, The Conditions We Inherit, featuring Dana Reed Wise, Bureau Chief for the Marion County Public Health Department, and Taylor Firestine of Health by Design. Listen at herdstrategies.com/podcast or wherever you stream your podcasts.

09/24/2026

Your ZIP code can say a lot about your health before you ever step into a doctor’s office. The air you breathe, the food within reach, the streets around you and even how quickly your neighborhood recovers after disaster can all be shaped by where you live.

On the latest episode of How They See Us, Denise Herd sits down with Dana Reed Wise of the Marion County Public Health Department and Taylor Firestine of Health by Design to talk about environmental justice in Marion County, the decisions that shape our neighborhoods and why some communities are asked to carry more than others.

The Conditions We Inherit is streaming now at herdstrategies.com/podcast and wherever you get your podcasts. Listen in, then take a closer look at what your own ZIP code might be telling you.

09/14/2026

On Saturday, Denise was recognized as the 2026 Legacy Honoree at A Seat At The Table Inc ’s Founder’s Table, an evening celebrating women entrepreneurs who are building businesses, creating opportunities and making an impact. The evening closed with a conversation with Denise about the realities of business ownership, the lessons she has learned along the way and what it means to build something that lasts.

Being recognized for what you have built is special. Having the opportunity to use what you have learned to help make someone else’s path a little clearer is even more meaningful.

Congratulations to Denise and to all of this year’s Founder’s Table honorees and finalists. We’re proud to see 15 years of work recognized as part of a legacy that is still being written.

08/28/2026

The August 11 derecho left thousands of Northwest Indiana residents without power, some for more than two weeks. While crews worked to restore service, families were also dealing with spoiled food, generator costs, temporary housing needs and the day-to-day reality of figuring out how to get through an extended outage.

In this piece, Herd Strategies Account Executive Kierra Santillan looks at NIPSCO’s response through a PR lens and explores a question that applies far beyond this storm: When your organization is at the center of a crisis, what does it actually mean to show up for the people affected by it?

Because crisis communication is about more than updates, timelines and explaining what went wrong. How an organization supports people while the problem is being solved can shape how its response is remembered long after the immediate crisis has passed.

Click here to read the full piece: http://www.herdstrategies.com/newsletter/nipsco

08/20/2026

New episode alert 🚨

In the latest episode of How They See Us, Kierra Santillan takes over the mic to interview Denise Herd about Herd Strategies’ 15th anniversary and the changing landscape for minority-, women- and disadvantaged-owned businesses.

In this clip, Denise pushes back on the idea that moving to a merit-based approach makes the process more fair, reminding us that these businesses have already been competing on merit. Contracting preferences did not create their talent or lower the bar. It created access, requiring decision-makers to consider businesses they may have otherwise overlooked and giving those businesses the chance to prove what they always knew they could do.

That distinction matters.

Built to Last, Forced to Adapt is a conversation that goes beyond Herd's growth and takes a real look at what's changing now and what happens when access to opportunity is no longer built into the process.

Listen to the full episode now at herdstrategies.com/podcast.

08/12/2026

Thank you to everyone who sent a high-five and a hat tip as we celebrate 15 years in business. But times are changing, and many of us are feeling the impact. But we can either talk about it or be about it; otherwise, you're a bobblehead just going back and forth. So I challenge you ... don't want DEI? Ok, actions speak louder than words.

What happens when the box disappears? That’s the question I’ve been thinking about as Herd Strategies celebrates 15 years in business during National Black Business Month. Because 15 years ago, the box mattered.

08/06/2026

Black entrepreneurs are making progress—but the funding gap remains. In 2024, Black-owned businesses received 5,200 SBA-backed loans totaling $1.5 billion. The average SBA 7(a) loan was $289,558, compared to $447,900 for white-owned businesses.

While SBA lending to Black entrepreneurs has tripled since 2020, Black-owned businesses still receive just 7.2% of SBA-approved loans, despite making up 9.6% of U.S. employer businesses. More than 120 years ago, Maggie Lena Walker saw this challenge and created a solution. In 1903, she became the first African American woman to charter a bank in the United States, expanding access to capital and economic opportunity for her community.

Her legacy reminds us that progress is measured not only by how far we've come, but by how much farther we have to go.
Who will build the next bridge to economic opportunity?