Diane Proctor Reeder

about

Diane Proctor Reeder is owner of Written Images, a firm that specializes in book editing/packaging and creative projects; and a partner in Strategic Communications, which provides consultation services in communications strategy, diversity & inclusion, community engagement and public relations, government affairs, and special events development and execution. She is also a project editor with Our Daily Bread ministries, where she has contributed to and provided developmental editing for several African-American-focused books and devotionals. Diane is an author and playwright with three books and two plays to her credit.

 

ACCOMPLISHMENTS AND HIGHLIGHTS

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Cultural/Literary

Ø  Edited and assisted more than 15 authors in publishing ventures (self-publishing and traditional publishers, including Moody Press, Kregel Publishing, Parker Books, InterVarsity Press, and Our Daily Bread)—more than a quarter-million books sold to date. Categories include Christian, children’s, fiction, autobiography, political commentary, inspirational, motivational, and career development.

 

Ø  Successfully packaged and marketed self-published book, A Diary of Joseph:  A Spiritual Journey Through Time, with 3,000 copies sold. (www.ADiaryofJoseph.com); Listen: A Symphony of Faith; and What the Word BE: Why Black English is the King’s (James) English! which was named as one of the “Top Black Books of 2014” by NAACP Image Award Board Member and book reviewer Kam Williams. Book was also selected by the Congressional Black Caucus Foundation (CBCF) to be featured in its Author’s Pavilion during the 2014 CBCF Legislative Weekend; by the Harlem Book Fair to present at its annual event; and by the Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, who hosted the book launch.

 

Ø  Play, “A Cloud of Women:”

o   was performed to sold-out audiences at Marygrove College

o   attracted underwriting funds from an international Christian women’s ministry focused on economic empowerment

o   attracted invitation to participate in “DramaFest,” a staged reading for new works sponsored by Marygrove College and the Arts League of Michigan

o   has been performed at the request of several Detroit churches and regional women’s conferences for performance

o   has been seen by more than 6,000 people in the Midwest—Michigan, Ohio and Illinois

o   was performed in May 2018 in Chicago and Detroit

 

Ø  Staged reading of second play, “Reconciliation:  The Story of Sarah and Hagar,” performed to sold-out audience at the Virgil H. Carr Cultural Arts Center in October 2011.

 

Ø  Developed and executed cultural event featuring African American sacred music and dance that raised $2,000 for The Wright Museum in Detroit, the largest African American museum in the nation. Coordinated choir, dance troupe, marketing and ticket sales.

 

Ø  Invited to serve as Board Chair of Lotus Press, established by Poet Laureate of Detroit Naomi Long Madgett.

 

Ø  Selected to serve as Managing Editor of a joint venture with major Christian publishers to focus on African American Christian book market.

 

Ø  Provided primary research for author to publish book on the connection between ancient African spirituality and Christianity.

 

Ø  Chosen by Department Head at Ecumenical Theological Seminary to edit Ph.D. theses of ETS students; have also edited PhD theses and books from candidates and graduates at State University of New York at Binghamton and Michigan State University.

 

PARTIAL LISTING OF BOOKS EDITED/PACKAGED

 

Our Daily Bread—Contributor and Project Editor for selected devotionals and publications. Co-Managing Editor for Our Help, a devotional for African Americans released in 2018.

 

Hired by Wayne State University Press and The Millender Fund to author the biography of political guru Robert Millender, who was the power behind the elections of many Detroit notables including Detroit Mayor Coleman A. Young, first Black Detroit City Councilman Robert Tindal, first Black Michigan Secretary of State Richard Austin, and Recorder’s Court Judge George Crockett.

 

Currently working with Mrs. Lovette Brangman,  the widow of Bermudian political luminary and former Member of Parliament Walter Brangman, to author his posthumous biography.

 

Get Up With Something on Your Mind, by Dr. Howard G. Adams, national motivational speaker and Fortune 500 consultant. Also edited, wrote, and packaged two additional books by Adams:  Career Management 101 and Family Wisdom, a book chronicling more than 200 years of Adams’s genealogical/ancestral history.

 

View from the Roof and Grandma’s Hands, by noted national motivational speaker and STEM expert Dr. Calvin Mackie.

 

Positioning Your Child for Success, by Yvonne Posey Gilchrist, a minister, educational consultant and motivational speaker who focuses on child-rearing strategies.

 

Elijah’s Mantle: Empowering the Next Generation of African American Christian Leaders (editor and contributor). In capacity as Managing Editor for Parker Books, developed, edited and contributed to this book in a partnership between Parker Books, an African American publisher, and Kregel Publications in Grand Rapids, MI.

 

Chosen Vessels:  Women of Color, Keys to Change by Rebecca Osaigbovo, which has sold more than 50,000 copies to date. Also:  Movin’ on Up, a book of spiritual guidance for African American women; and Spiritual Sisterhood, a mentoring guide. (Chosen Vessels and Spiritual Sisterhood published by InterVarsity Press)

 

Teaching Our Men, Reaching Our Fathers, a volume of essays on the spiritual education and development of African American males. Published by Lift Ev’ry Voice, an imprint of Moody Press in Chicago, IL.

 

Staying Pure, Sober Faith and Saved Race, a trilogy of books for African American teenage girls by Stephanie Perry Moore. Published by Lift Ev’ry Voice.

 

Journey to a Free Land:  The Story of Nicodemus, First Black Town West of the Mississippi. This was a children’s book by Theda Robinson Robertson, a former resident of that historic Nicodemus town, who turned her childhood memories of hearing this oral history into an educational children’s book.

 

I Beat the System! The autobiography of former Deputy Secretary of Labor, GM Vice President and Detroit mayoral candidate William C. Brooks.

 

 

Grants

Ø  Participated in grant writing projects for the University of Michigan College of Engineering for monies from federal, foundation, and corporate sources.

 

Ø  Have written grants and reports for non-profit organizations—educational, community development, and minority-business institutions.

 

Ø  Have been successful in helping to secure grants from Kresge, Community Development Advocates of Detroit, the (former) Paul Robeson Fund, Carls Foundation, and the State of Michigan (Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs).

 

Ø  Secured State of Michigan grant to launch a pre-school that has sustained for more than 20 years.

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Ø  Work with the Detroit Coalition Against Police Brutality to successfully secure grants for its advocacy work and its 10+-year running radio program, "Fighting for Justice."

 

Marketing/Community Outreach

Ø  Participated in executive management team that assisted Blue Cross Blue Shield of Michigan, Meijer, Henry Ford Health System, and Rock Ventures in developing multicultural/community outreach and diversity efforts.

 

Ø  Authored 20-year history of the first minority programs office established at the University of Michigan and served as its first Communications Coordinator.

 

Ø  Provided primary oversight for NASA-funded website focused on student fellowship program; supervised and handled communications with Tier Three subcontractors.

 

Ø  Organized and engaged in strategic planning and outreach for a groundbreaking educational/political/social event, “ReImagining Work,” sponsored by the Boggs Center to Nurture Community Leadership, an organization founded by the late author, activist, scholar and international speaker Grace Lee Boggs with her late husband James Boggs.

 

Ø  Provided event planning and communications/design services to the Michigan Minority Supplier Development Council for their major events, including the Annual Dinner and the Annual Procurement Conference.

 

Ø  Conducted outreach/marketing to businesses in Michigan, Ohio and Indiana on behalf of the Great Lakes Trade Adjustment Assistance Center, a federally-funded program located at the University of Michigan.

 

Ø  Serve on primary event planning team for the United Conference for Women, a 40-year organization that plans a conference that has been attended by upwards of 5,000 women annually. Work includes planning as well as program booklet oversight.

 

Media/PR

Ø  Co-producer, “Building Wealth” radio and cable television programs. Both programs ranked #1 in their time slots and were well-received by local audiences.

 

Ø  Intern, WDET-FM. Produced a 15-minute segment on “Harambee,” an African American Christian conference, that included interviews with the conference organizer and audio segment/excerpts.

 

Ø  Served as Press Secretary to former Wayne County Commission Chairman Ricardo Solomon.

 

Ø  Served as Assistant to the President of Inner City Business Improvement Forum, acting as liaison to the organization’s PR firm and attending community/partner meetings on behalf of the President.

 

Educational

Ø  Adjunct Faculty, Grace College & Seminary, Winona Lake, MI. Taught English and Speech courses at the Detroit satellite location.

 

Ø  Delivered business and term paper-writing seminars to high school and college students.

 

Ø  Developed extensive human resources training curriculum for the County of Wayne, Michigan.

 

Ø  Presented writing seminars and workshops for high school and graduate students.

 

Ø  Developed faith-based children’s health curriculum for Health Alliance Plan.

 

Ø  Served as technical assistance trainer for the Skillman Foundation-funded faith-based initiative “A Call to Service,” providing training in communications strategies for non-profit, faith-based organizations.

 

Ø  Developed and delivered pre-release curriculum for a State of Michigan juvenile detention facility (the former Maxey Training School for Boys).

 

Ø  Lecturer, Wayne State University – African American Studies

Class

 

Education

Ø  Spelman College, Atlanta, GA. English Major.

Ø  University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. B.A. in Journalism & Economics; Master’s in Public Policy from the Gerald Ford School of Policy Studies.

 

Speaking Engagements/Booksignings

Ø  Harlem Book Fair

Ø  Congressional Black Caucus Legislative Weekend

Ø  Charles H. Wright Museum of African American History, Detroit

Ø  Tabernacle Missionary Baptist Church, Detroit – Women’s Conference

Ø  United Conference for Women

Ø  Mt. Lebanon-Strathmoor Church, Detroit

Ø  Evangel Ministries, Detroit

Ø  Plymouth United Church of Christ, Detroit

Ø  Ravendale Community Development, Detroit

Ø  Genesis House, Detroit

Ø  Project Transition, Detroit

Ø  Chicagoland Christian Women’s Conference (Illinois)

Ø  Mack Alive, Detroit

Ø  DCES Educational Services

Ø  Institute for Black Family Development, Detroit

Ø  Detroit Partnership

Ø  Southfield Public Library, Southfield, MI

Ø  Rosedale Park Baptist Church, Detroit