Combining strengths is our strength.
We combine rigor and empathy with observation and presence.
Sarah and Ashleigh are co-principals of Mess Hill. We spent over a decade collaborating with each other, first as strategists at Zeus Jones and then as independent consultants.
After becoming skilled in the art of subcontracting each other, we sealed the deal as business partners in 2025.
Sarah Herberg
CO-PRINCIPAL
Over 20 years leading brand, product, and organizational transformation, Sarah has enabled Fortune 10s, multinational nonprofits, and emerging startups alike to more sustainably navigate change. From training the C-suite in the power of strategic decision-making to helping nonprofit leaders navigate conflict with care, Sarah thrives in the spaces where strategy and learning converge. She is thankful to have found a career that invites her creative and analytical sides to play together, exploring possible futures and guiding leaders through decision making.
A graduate of UW-Madison, Sarah holds a Certificate in Organizational Development through Georgetown University’s Institute of Transformational Leadership. Outside of work, she enjoys cooking, sewing, traveling, hanging with her young boys, and running throughout the long, cold Minnesota winters.
Ashleigh Penrod
CO-PRINCIPAL
As a former dance professor and professional choreographer turned strategist and facilitator, Ashleigh values the power of imagination and experimentation in establishing and enacting strategy. Over 20 years, she’s honed her ability to help leaders find clarity and know when to be flexible to the changing environment, from guiding transformations across Nestle Foods to helping develop regenerative agriculture programs with small brewers. She brings a particular sector specialty in agriculture and food production.
A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College, Ashleigh also holds an MFA in Dance Performance, Choreography, and Cultural Studies from Temple University and multiple movement-oriented certificates. She enjoys running regenerative experiments in her garden, producing the occasional show, and dancing in the kitchen with her kiddos.
Collaborators
We’re grateful to be in community with smart and thoughtful experts, whom we often bring in for project-specific teams.