Indy Maven’s 2025 Women to Watch list spotlights a dynamic and diverse group of trailblazing women who are making significant contributions to their communities and fields of expertise. From writers and curators like Ariana Beedie, who connects communities through storytelling, to visionary entrepreneurs like Leila Spann, whose marketing firm is empowering businesses and advocating for Latina professionals, these women are shaping the future of Indianapolis.
Whether through art, education, healthcare, or community-building, their work is inspiring and transformative. This year’s honorees represent a powerful force of creativity, resilience, and leadership, and their efforts are undoubtedly making Indy a more inclusive and vibrant place to live, work, and thrive.
Ariana Beedie
Ariana Beedie is a writer, curator, and community connector passionate about the Indianapolis community. Her passion for community storytelling and her asset-based community development approach led her to co-create projects like Face A Face (FAF Collective), Hoy Polloy Art Gallery, WooGrl Fest, and much more. Beedie’s work is featured in AFROPUNK, Sixty Inches from Center, Indianapolis Contemporary, Indy Arts Council, and WFYI. She is also an alumnus of the Public Allies Indianapolis AmeriCorps program.
Beedie is the Community Journalism Director for Mirror Indy and leads their Indy Documenters program. In 2025, Beedie is looking forward to returning to audio storytelling and curating personal projects to connect Indy residents through Mirror Indy. She is also active on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
Faith Blackwell
Faith Blackwell has been capturing moments and creating art since 2011. She is a marketing professional turned photographer who discovered her artistic passion while working for the International Masonry Institute. Now, she is a celebrated photographer and mixed-media artist who specializes in business headshots, commercial, event, and fashion photography. Her art is a testament to the power of reputation through featuring Black women and celebrating the beauty of uniqueness.
You can find her work at exhibits at Bottleworks Hotel and The Garage. In addition to her art, Blackwell is actively involved in her community, serving on the boards of Dress for Success Indianapolis, Indy Maven, and the Indianapolis Zoo. In 2025, she is also planning various art collections about food and culture for new galleries and group exhibits in the Indianapolis International Airport, the Jackson Junge Gallery in Chicago, and the Broad Ripple Art Fair. Keep an eye out to see what new exciting art she will create.
Anne Fuchs
Anne Fuchs, founder of Foxy Opera LLC, is an internationally acclaimed opera singer and public affairs professional with experience in the Indianapolis Opera and the Court of Appeals of Indiana. She has received a multitude of awards for her work including the Metropolitan Opera Regional Council Finalist award. Fuchs is also known for her work as a public relations professional where she served in the administrations of New York State Governor David A. Paterson, the New Jersey Office of Public Defender, and the administration of former Mayor Pete Buttigieg.
As the Director of Communications for the Court of Appeals of Indiana, Fuchs runs Appeals on Wheels, the Court’s traveling oral argument program. In 2023, they won the Sandra Day O’Connor Award for advancement of Civics Education. This year, Fuchs is officially launching Foxy Opera LLC, her vocal empowerment business which teaches professionals how to elevate their speech and presentation skills.
“I can’t wait to work with emerging leaders and professionals who want to maximize the power of this oft-overlooked, but critical tool,” Fuchs said.
Laura Giffel
Laura Giffel has been a vocal member of the community since 2014. She has served as a board member and president of her neighborhood association, she opened the first dog park in Downtown Indy in 2020, and she is a licensed therapist who has spent 10 years providing support to families who have been impacted by developmental delays.
Currently, Giffel serves as the District Manager for the Fountain Fletcher District, representing the cultural districts of Fountain Square and Fletcher Place. In this role she provides project management to the cultural district for initiatives spanning from public art installations to merchant advocacy and of course, running the organization’s social media. In 2025, Giffel is looking forward to fine-tuning their marketing strategies after successful events hosting Taylor Swift and WWE’s Royal Rumble.
“I look forward to continuing to support and build personal connections with the amazing small business owners that call our District home in so many ways and hopefully welcome a few more into our community,” Giffel said.
Katie Goar
Katie Goar, the President of Quadel, is known as a national leader in the mission to provide affordable housing for those in need through her housing consultation firm. Goar’s passion for affordable housing is powered by her experience of housing instability as a child. This experience gave her the unique perspective and opportunity to address the critical need for safe and stable housing for others.
Through her company and her TEDx Talk from 2024, Goar has increased awareness about the need for affordable housing and emphasized how important hand-ups are compared to hand-outs. As explained in her TEDx Talk, hand outs are simply a one-time gift to someone without work or education; meanwhile, hand-ups include the empowerment for someone to improve their situation by providing tools and opportunities for individuals to become self-sufficient. Building on the momentum from her TEDx Talk, she plans on continuing to uplift the conversation around affordable housing in 2025 through her ChangeMakers podcast, and maybe one day a memoir.
LaShatá Grayson
LaShatá Grayson is a woman on a mission to help women feel less alone. Founder and Executive Director of Carrying The Weight Consulting Agency, she specializes in leadership development and holistic well-being. Grayson is known to be a traveling, award winning speaker with over 60 partnerships from college/universities, nonprofits, and youth based groups. She has reached over 13,000 individuals, delivered 150+ workshops, and traveled to 34 of the 50 states to speak. In addition to this, she also gave a TEDx Talk “Clarity in the Chaos” that garnered over 40,000 views within the first 3 months. When she is not traveling the world, Grayson is fulfilling her life assignment with Black Girls Who Lift, a fitness community for women to lift.
In 2025, Grayson is working toward the launch of The Weight Room, a women’s wellness cohort dedicated to supporting women in prioritizing their physical and mental well-being. She is also expanding partnerships with organizations such as the IU-Indianapolis, Kappa Beta Gamma National Sorority, Inc., and Pi Sigma Epsilon Inc. Co-Ed Fraternity., in hopes of reinforcing her mission to create a culture of care around wellness and leadership. Grayson will also host the annual Black Girls Who Lift fitness and wellness event on March 29, 2025, which will expand to include monthly fitness and educational sessions.
Olivia Head
Olivia Head is the founder of Oinking Acres, a nonprofit dedicated to saving farm animals. Head adopted her first pig at 14 and grew up intrigued by animals. She quickly discovered the need for an animal, and more specifically pig, rescue. With the help of her family, she turned their Brownsburg farm into a safe haven for unwanted pigs. As a team, Head and her family are working together to make the world a better place for animals.
Tasha Jones
Tasha Jones is more than just a poet — she is an advocate, an educator, and a force for change. Whether through poetry, policy, or prose, her words don’t just speak; they resonate. She writes with a clarity that brings history into the present, exploring class, caste, race, womanism, spirituality, and the shared human experience. For men, her work offers a lens; for women, it offers a reflection. Jones’ work is a devotion to truth, ensuring that voices once dismissed or distorted are now amplified, honored, and understood.
Her research and classroom data shaped Indiana’s Senate Bill 337 (2017), ensuring that every high school student must complete a semester of Ethnic Studies—a move she believes is vital in teaching history in full, not in fragments, and in fostering a generation of critically conscious individuals. She has spent her career fostering equity, belonging, and access in education as she uses journalism to uplift stories of culture, community, and change—because every story told is a step toward justice.
Jones is currently pursuing a PhD with a dissertation on Marronage as a Language and she continues to explore the relationships between language, culture, and freedom. She is also in the midst of writing a creative nonfiction novel that promises to be as equally thought-provoking as her poetry. Whether in print or performance, she finds ways to connect—making complex truths accessible, engaging, and unforgettable. Follow along with her journey in seeking truth and justice.
Diane McAndrews
Diane McAndrews is the co-owner and operating director of Indie Coffee Roasters. She oversees the company’s retail locations and wholesale operations throughout Indiana. With the goal of introducing new coffees from around the world, McAndrews is excited to showcase farmers and producers from Columbia, Myanmar, and Ethiopia, who are in partnership with the company.
“We are always bringing on new coffees from around the world, and it means so much to share those roasts with our local community. This year, we’re particularly excited to highlight farmers and producers we work with to source our coffees,” McAndrews said. “And like always, we plan to serve our customers with love and radical hospitality.”
Sarah Myer
Sarah Myer is Chief of Staff & Strategy at Indiana Sports Corp where she has served since April of 2019. Myer provides strategic guidance and operational leadership to support the organization in fulfilling its mission of impacting the community through sports.
Building off her momentum from 2024, 2025 seems to be a promising year for Myer as she takes as many opportunities as she can to showcase Indianapolis as a top host city. She advertised her belief that Indy has the best sports, arts, cutlery, and hospitality in the world and is excited to uplift the movement around women in sports.
“Great things don’t usually happen in comfort zones, and I’m ready to do more great things and lift others up – especially women – as I do more of this important work for our community,” Myer said.
Colleen Pawlicki
Colleen Pawlicki is a restless, bold, and optimistic writer, researcher, and business owner in Fountain Square. Pawlicki is the founder and CEO of Troy Street Professional Services, a qualitative research, editing, and writing firm focused on helping partners tell their best story.
Pawlicki serves on the steering committee of Women United, a giving society of United Way of Central Indiana focused on gender equity and early childhood education. She also stewards a Little Free Library across the street from Stacy Park in Fountain Square, that gives over 1,200 books each year to their neighbors and surrounding community. Pawlicki is looking forward to publishing new work in 2025 including the third volume of the Troy Street Journal.
Bailee Reynolds
Bailee Reynolds has over a decade of experience working in nonprofit development. She is the Development Director for Independent Living for Adults with Developmental/Intellectual Disabilities (ILADD) where she spearheads their mission to provide housing, educational programs and social opportunities to help enable adults with intellectual or developmental disabilities (IDD) to live in their own homes and lead fulfilling lives. ILADD is working on building their first community for adults with IDD in Zionsville. Fundraising campaigns are vital to the funding of this project, so Reynolds’ next project is jumpstarting this program.
“I love working with adults with disabilities as I believe they are a population often overlooked and underserved. My career brings me joy and I am very thankful for where I am today,” Reynolds said.
Leila Spann
Leila Spann is an award-winning entrepreneur, marketing strategist, and community leader dedicated to driving business growth and economic impact across Indiana. As the Founder and CEO of enbloom Marketing, Spann has built a thriving consultancy that empowers businesses through strategic marketing, go-to-market, and community-focused initiatives.
Beyond her business success, Spann is a dedicated mentor and advocate for Latina professionals. Spann is also an advocate for mothers, openly speaking about her experience with postpartum depression to destigmatize and normalize the topic. Spann’s story is one of resilience, vision, and empowerment—a Latina entrepreneur shaping the future of business and community growth in Indiana. In 2024, she was honored as the Indiana Latino Expo’s Female-Owned Business of the Year, a testament to her entrepreneurial excellence, leadership, and impact on Indiana’s business and Latino communities. In 2025, Leila is looking to foster relationships with Indy-based professionals and organizations and extend the reach for impact in the Central Indiana area.
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