2025 Blue KC Gamechanger Honoree Natasha Herdman
Well-Groomed Solution
Natasha Herdman is like someone who wants to be a nurse but can’t stand the sight of blood.
She grew up in Iowa where her mom was a dog groomer. She worked in the business, focusing exclusively on marketing and bookkeeping.
“I’ve never groomed a dog in my life,” Herdman said. But she understood the business like the back of her own paw.
She attended the Bloch School of Business at UMKC where she studied generational poverty, combined with how to run a nonprofit organization. After graduating, she started working with the homeless community of Kansas City.
Her primary focus was trying to find jobs for her homeless clients, but she kept hitting roadblocks. Most of her clients couldn’t get jobs because of lack of education or lack of job history. The biggest barrier in most cases was a criminal record.
Herdman found that most employers would automatically exclude a job candidate if they had a felony on their record.
“Most of my clients had little kids. They really had no way of getting out of poverty,” she said. “They had no house, no car and no way to make life better.”
Then, one day on her way home from work, she received a call from her mom.
“She said, ‘I need you to put another ad in the paper. I need more dog groomers,’” Herdman said. “She said she’d train any warm body who walked through the door.
“I realized that the demand was so high that my mom would probably even look past a felony on somebody’s record. I found out that there’s a huge demand. There are very few dog-grooming schools.”
So Herdman founded Pawsperity, a nonprofit that meets more needs than just finding clients a job. She describes Pawsperity as “half nonprofit, half school.”
“If we have someone interested in becoming a dog groomer, once we know that they fit our profile, we start assessing their individual needs. They might need housing, childcare, mental health, dental or legal help.
“We help them get stabilized so that they can be in class for 40 hours a week for seven months. Our classroom is phase two, which is the actual dog grooming training program. The thing that we do differently is put social workers on the floor with our grooming instructors. We train our grooming instructors in trauma-informed care.”
There’s a side benefit to the Pawsperity program. Dog grooming itself can help groomers learn to deal with the stresses of their lives. Just like therapy dogs, the “customers” can sooth the groomer’s nerves.
“My students tell me that the most relaxing part of their day is coming to school,” Herdman said. “There definitely is a human/animal bond. Sometimes, the students will have to learn how to manage their emotions. What has made them survive on the street doesn’t always translate well to the classroom. A dog won’t let you work with it until you’ve got yourself under control.”
Because of her work, Herdman will receive the August “Blue KC Gamechanger” award. Launched during the 2024 NWSL season, Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas City (Blue KC) and the Kansas City Current teamed up to create this exclusive program highlighting local individuals blazing the trail for all women across the Kansas City area. A Blue KC Gamechanger inspires bold ambition in all his or her work, enriching the community around them, and enacting positive change through intentional action.
“Natasha has used her passion for helping the homeless to help them find a way out of poverty,” said Jenny Housley, Blue KC Senior Vice President and Chief Revenue Officer. “It’s a very practical way of filling gaps in the workforce and helping people in need.
“We are very proud and excited to recognize her as our August Blue KC Gamechanger.”
And Herdman is proud to receive the award. “I am honored to be recognized with the Blue KC Gamechanger award from the KC Current,” she said. “I greatly appreciate the Current’s devotion to supporting nonprofits like mine.”
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