At Bat for Ashley Rountree: Larissa Reece

My husband, Chris, and I lived just outside of Manhattan in a high rise for about three years when I was recruited to serve as Vice President for Development and Alumni Affairs at New York Medical College in Westchester. I loved being able to hop on the subway and head into Manhattan for all that it offers – great shopping and restaurants, Broadway plays, and just walking around. We still visit frequently to see friends and the city.

Perhaps incongruently, our other favorite spot to visit is the land we own in Columbia, Kentucky, near Green River Lake. We love to hike through the beautiful countryside around the lake, boat and kayak in summertime, and hang out by the campfire in all seasons.

I grew up watching Muhammad Ali’s fights with my father; it was so special seeing a Louisvillian achieve so much success. Early in my career, I was a freelance writer and had the opportunity to co-author a book with Ali called “Louisville, The Greatest City,” a coffee table book with a history of Louisville businesses, which was published in 2000. The following year, I was working as a deputy press secretary for Louisville Mayor David L. Armstrong, and I met Ali at the Louisville premier of his namesake movie starring Will Smith. He was so charismatic, even though he couldn’t speak much due to having Parkinson’s disease. But he would do magic tricks, smile, and let you know he was happy to spend time with you.

Chris and I are both native Louisvillians; he has one sister and I have four siblings, all in Louisville. Our favorite part of any holiday is spending time with our parents, siblings, and children. We are blessed to have all four of our parents still living and in Louisville. Our daughter, son, and their spouses also live in town, and this year each couple blessed us with a grandchild. I have an 11-month-old grandson, Augustine, and a 7-month-old granddaughter, Margaret. I’m really looking forward to sharing Christmas with them for the first time this year.

Ever since I was a child, I’ve had dogs. Right now, I have two – a chihuahua mix, Kes, who’s about 14 pounds, and an Australian/German Shepherd mix, Nitro, who’s 100 pounds. As expected, the chihuahua rules the roost.

In response to the question, “How are you?”, my answer is always, “Fabulous!” If you say it enough, you too will be fabulous.

The nonprofit sector is generally filled with passionate people who are focused on making our world a better place, and I’ve enjoyed working with all my client partners. But my favorite part is mentoring fundraising staff. As consultants, we are often asked to improve fundraising efforts in some way, and I always find a staff member or two who really benefit from having a mentor. I enjoy helping them fine tune their skill sets and learn how to collaborate more effectively with leadership, volunteers, and donors. It’s easy for fundraising staff to feel isolated from the rest of the organization because their work is typically external facing. I’ve built deep relationships with many fundraisers throughout my career, and I still take their calls and share advice years after our project ends.

• French fry dipping sauce: Ketchup
• Cards or Cats: Cards
• Dogs or cats: Dogs
• Comfort food: Anything chocolate
• Favorite holiday: Christmas
• Favorite season: Winter