Urban Leader to Address Challenges Faced By Women in Contemporary Society

WORCESTER, Mass. – Alicia Reece, who has worked for economic equality and social justice, will give a talk titled "Women in Contemporary U.S. Society: How Can They Continue to Progress?" on March 27 at 7:15 p.m. in Room 519 of the Hogan Campus Center at the College of the Holy Cross. The talk is free and open to the public.

Reece has a resumé filled with historic "firsts" including being the first African American woman to file to run for mayor in Cincinnati’s history, and the youngest woman to be considered for the Democratic ticket for lieutenant governor and secretary of state.

Reece became the youngest woman in history to be elected (at large) to Cincinnati City Council at the age of 28 in November of 1999 and was elected three more terms while becoming one of the most visible vice mayors of a major city in the country as she was at the forefront of dealing with racial riots and unrest in Cincinnati in 2001. Reece was the face of the city on national and international media and became the city’s lead negotiator in federal court with the U.S. Department of Justice and the Fraternal Order of Police to settle a racial profiling lawsuit resulting in radical law enforcement reforms including an anti-racial profiling law.

The dynamic young woman has also been recognized nationally for her work in renaming a street surrounding the National Underground Railroad Freedom Center along the Ohio River in downtown Cincinnati, "Rosa Parks Street" in honor of the late "mother of the civil rights movement."

Reece has electrified crowds as a speaker at the National Democratic Convention, National Rainbow/PUSH, the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation conventions and conferences, and a panelist at the National Urban League. She has been featured nationally and internationally on CNN, Fox, BET, Nightline, as well as in the Washington Post, Los Angeles Times, Wall Street Journal, Ebony, Vibe, and Jet.

Currently she is the vice president of marketing at her family’s 35-year-old advertising, promotions and management company.

The event is sponsored by the Black Student Union, Student Government Association and Women’s Forum.