Herd Strategies

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?

08/05/2026

08/04/2026

August is Black Business Month, and Indiana is experiencing significant changes that will impact Black and women business owners for decades to come. This month, we invite you to follow us on all of our socials as we celebrate our past, talk about our present and create a vision for our future. ,

07/28/2026

To my PR colleagues. What say you?

Here’s a question I’ve been wrestling with lately. When did it become standard practice for reporters to identify the public relations representative as the source of an organization’s official statement? I see it more and more.

07/27/2026

Quamina Carter reminds us that people rarely struggle in isolation.

As a licensed mental health counselor and executive coach at The Well Counseling and Consulting Group , Quamina’s work sits at the intersection of mental health, leadership and institutional wellness. Her perspective challenges us to think beyond individual resilience and ask whether our communities, workplaces and institutions are creating the conditions people need to truly belong.

As America reflects on 250 years, Quamina’s insight reminds us that healing is not only personal. It is shaped by the spaces we build and the responsibility we share.

Click on our Linktree in our bio or visit HerdStrategies.com to read Quamina's full feature. For more information about her work with The Well Counseling Group, visit https://thewellcounselinggroup.com/staff/quamina-carter-lmhc-lcac.

07/24/2026

We’re often told to stay diligent, keep fighting and continue working toward the change we want to see. But what happens when the world feels heavy, and the fight starts to wear on us?

In this audio clip from Part II of How They See Us, Calvalyn Day of The Well Counseling and Consulting Group offers a different way to think about protecting your peace. It is not always about disconnecting from everything around you. Sometimes, it is about making room for rest, honoring your values and giving yourself permission to experience joy without needing it to be productive.

Click the image below to listen to Calvalyn’s full reflection, then catch Part II of our two-part conversation on America at 250 and minority mental health here: herdstrategies.com/podcast