“The goal of the nonprofit is to bring awareness to the mental health space for Black women in corporate America, to be a safe haven where they are able to communicate with each other,” Reece said.

Reece’s interests don’t end at changing corporate America. She’s also a budding filmmaker, whose first documentary, “Shot of Influence,” featured 11 influential Minnesota women, including herself, talking about their work and the challenges they’ve faced through the course of their careers. She created and promoted the documentary with the support of the Minnesota Women’s Press and Twin Cities Film Fest.

Mikki Morrissette, Minnesota Women’s Press publisher and editor, said that Reece’s determination and drive were what got the movie off the ground and into the hearts of viewers.

“She was a phenom in the way she tackled that project,” Morrissette said. “I was impressed with how she simply did it, without the general expertise in documentary step-taking that others might normally do.”

Reece lacked experience in moviemaking, Morrissette said, but she made up for that in moxie, even finding a way to premiere the movie at a local theater. “She assembled a good team with her for filming, editing, celebrating, and showcasing the event in a local ‘red carpet’ approach at Icon,” she said of Reece. “I really wasn’t sure how she managed to do it all, but she did.”

Summer Bowie, community manager at Women Who Influence, said that she knew the first time she met Reece that she wanted to work with her.

“Her favorite mantra is, ‘What you do makes a difference,’” Bowie said. “She tries to incorporate that into her work as well and into the minds of other people.” That ethic, combined with her bold confidence, makes Reeece the perfect work partner, she said.

“She’s very determined,” Bowie said of Reece. “She’s very bold and unapologetic. She has a great work drive. We’re kind of like yin and yang. She has a great work ethic and her reason for doing this just drew me in.”

Reece’s next big project is a new documentary that takes a deeper look at the challenges Black women face when trying to navigate large corporations. The film will be titled “Black Women Surviving Corporate.”

“The documentary will involve different corporate professionals from different backgrounds,” Reece explained. “We will interview the individuals. The majority of individuals featured and the majority of individuals filmed will be Black.” Reece is in the crowd-funding stage for this project, with $10,000 already raised. She’s hoping to start production within the year, and premiere the film at another gala event.

It’s just another big project for a woman who may have been disappointed in her dreams but instead has set her sights on something much bigger.

“In my own life, I try to make the work environment a safe haven,” Reece said. “I encourage open dialogue and respect of everyone’s space, personality and time. I try to keep the conversation going, asking, ‘Is there something I need to work on?’ I’m focused on making sure people feel like they are working well with each other, with respecting everyone’s unique contributions. That’s how I think work should be.”

Andy Steiner

Andy Steiner is a Twin Cities-based writer and editor. Before becoming a full-time freelancer, she worked as senior editor at Utne Reader and editor of the Minnesota Women’s Press. Email her at asteiner@minnpost.com.