Nancy VanReece

Carpe Diem Management - Strategy and Waymaking

Madison, TN

IT STARTS WITH A PROMISE - AND ALWAYS HAS A STORY

FROM THE GRASSROOTS UP

 SERVICES

METRO NASHVILLE

Carpe Diem Management brings the knowledge and experience to help you successfully engage at every local government level—from legislation through Nashville’s 40-member Metro Council to policy development within city departments. We specialize in monitoring key issues, building strong relationships, and guiding community and government interactions to deliver meaningful, positive outcomes.

PLANNING, ZONING, LAND USE

As Middle Tennessee grows, issues like land use, zoning overlays, and affordable housing have become increasingly critical. Carpe Diem Management provides the insight and advocacy needed to navigate the complexities of planning and zoning—tracking, monitoring, and influencing proposals before the Planning Commission and other key bodies. Our guiding principle is simple: development should happen for people and with people—not to them. Together, we can shape our city's smarter, more inclusive, and collaborative future.

STRATEGIC consulting

Not every challenge has a clear label, and some require creative, unconventional solutions. Whether engaging grassroots communities, connecting with key policymakers, or crafting and executing strategic communication plans across Metro, county, or state levels, Carpe Diem Management is your trusted partner every step of the way.

ADAPTIVE LEADERSHIP & ADAPTIVE CHANGE

Nancy VanReece is an ongoing student of Adaptive Change and Adaptive Leadership. She first studied this at the Harvard Kennedy School in the Executive Education Program for Senior Executives in State and Local Government. During this rigorous and highly interactive program, VanReece was challenged to think critically to identify feasible solutions to the world’s most complex problems. Hands-on learning with faculty, colleagues, and visiting policy experts provided new perspectives on the daily challenges. It resulted in a renewed sense of passion for work, a fortified commitment to the public interest, and a practical framework for effecting change within both the public and private sectors.

Adaptive Leadership focuses on four dimensions; 

  • navigating business environments

  • leading with empathy

  • learning through self-correction and reflection

  • creating win-win solutions

Adaptive change refers to a process in which an organization or individual addresses complex challenges by adapting values, behaviors, or practices.

These challenges often require moving beyond simple, technical fixes to deeper shifts in mindset or culture. Adaptive change can be difficult because it often involves discomfort, learning new approaches, and changing deeply held habits or beliefs.

Difficult conversations are often a part of implementing adaptive change. These conversations may touch on issues like conflicting values, resistance to change, or the need to address emotionally charged topics. Successfully navigating them requires skills such as active listening, empathy, self-awareness, and a focus on problem-solving.

Strategies for Managing Difficult Conversations in Adaptive Change

  1. Prepare Emotionally and Intellectually

    • Reflect on your goals, emotions, and potential biases before engaging in the conversation.

    • Be ready for a potentially emotional response from the other party and prepare to handle it with patience.

  2. Create a Safe Environment

    • Encourage open communication by setting a tone of respect and understanding.

    • Establish norms that allow all voices to be heard without fear of judgment.

  3. Listen Actively and with Empathy

    • Give full attention to the speaker and show genuine interest in their perspective.

    • Validate the emotions of others, even if you don’t agree with their views.

  4. Focus on Shared Goals

    • Highlight common objectives to align the conversation around solutions.

    • Frame the discussion in terms of mutual benefits and collective outcomes.

  5. Acknowledge and Manage Resistance

    • Understand that resistance is natural, and people may be afraid of losing something valuable to them.

    • Ask questions to uncover the concerns and motivations underlying their resistance.

  6. Be Transparent and Honest

    • Share your thoughts clearly and candidly without sugarcoating or using manipulative tactics.

    • Explain the rationale behind necessary changes, even if the news is difficult.

  7. Stay Solution-Oriented

    • Instead of getting stuck in blame or past mistakes, keep the conversation forward-focused.

    • Collaboratively explore adaptive solutions that address underlying issues.

“As a newly formed, public-facing enterprise, our organization benefited from Nancy’s deep understanding and valuable experience in Public Affairs. She established community relationships — public and private, near and far — that will prove critical to our company’s success.
She is a positive and dynamic contributor.
Nancy defined the important role of Vice President of Public Affairs and Business Development beyond the scope of our expectations and executed the complex nature of this dual role seamlessly and with utmost professionalism.”
— Fred Kennedy, Harken Hall
“What can Nancy NOT do? Seriously - she approaches any role, job, task, or initiative with integrity, authenticity, and passion. She’s not afraid of the hard work needed to get the job done and is quick to look for wins for all parties. She also shows up with her community. Nancy is not merely well connected; she’s deeply connected and brings that network to any opportunity that has a chance to make the world better. ”
— Sam Davidson, Co-Founder Batch USA, LLC
“I worked with Nancy for 4 years and I can attest that she is a life-long learner, leader, and relationship builder. Nancy has never met a stranger. I’ve probably sat in over 100 meetings with her and she’s always found something to connect with the person across the table- “a virtual connector of dots.” That takes both empathy and emotional intelligence. Nancy is thoughtful in her approach to everything she does which makes her excellent at business development. She is able to think strategically at ten-thousand feet while being detailed oriented in the execution of tasks. Ideas are nothing without execution and Nancy balances those effortlessly. Having Nancy is your corner is nothing short of incredible.”
— RYAN CARTER, FOUNDER/CEO PARCHUTE MEDIA, LLC
“Nancy did a spectacular job rebuilding MDSave’s social media presence. One heck of a turnaround job. She was creative, reliable and has a solid work ethic. She came to the table with fresh ideas, was always on time and always kept a great sense of humor.”
— Chad Blackburn Vice President Business Development MDSave,Inc.

"I came to Nancy because I wanted to build my brand through blogging/social media and had zero knowledge about how to do it. She was the perfect person for the job. Her blend of social media expertise and calm, positive demeanor was exactly what I needed. 

Consultant/coach/patient trainer, she helped me create a path to launching my blog and gave me skills along the way. She made me feel like what I wanted to achieve was possible, and then got me there. There is lots left to do, but I feel confident that we will partner to achieve the long term results I'm hoping for."

- Lisa Pote, Consultant

“Nancy VanReece is the real thing. She knows how to build an effective social media brand/platform. Even better, she makes this complex, arcane world accessible (and dare I say FUN) for her clients. She stands on the valuable ground where social media, branding and marketing intersect. I’m incredibly relieved to have her on my team!”
— Amy Lynch, Generational Edge
“What can be said about Nancy VanReece that you may not already know? There is a general consensus (and a look at her LinkedIn recommendations confirms this) regarding her wide-ranging talent for just about everything at which she tries her hand. As communications director at the Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation (GBBF), I was responsible for helping to coordinate a statewide summit featuring thought leaders and communications experts in the non-profit arena. During the planning phase for the event, when charged with finding a presenter for the topic of social media engagement, I knew immediately that Nancy was the best possible choice. Nancy is on the cutting edge when it comes to helping organizations create comprehensive social media engagement strategies. Her presentation at the Tennessee Executive Residence was eloquent, sleek, articulate and – most significantly – effective. Our attendees left the summit invigorated with a real sense of how to implement Nancy’s ideas and reach more of their constituents in the ever-evolving ecosystem of social media platforms. I cannot recommend her highly enough, and I hope to work with her often in the future.”
— Kirk Graves, Communications Director, Governor’s Books from Birth Foundation
“Nancy has completely transformed our social media program, creating a viable and robust presence for us across a variety of platforms, from Facebook, Twitter and YouTube to Google+ and Pinterest. She has played a critical role in upgrading and maintaining our website, and she piloted the launch of the Nashville Symphony’s mobile app, which today has been downloaded more than 5,000 times.

Nancy’s commitment to the job has been beyond compare, as she has spent countless evenings tethered to her iPad, monitoring and responding to the outpouring of feedback we receive through our social networks. Day in and day out, she has created, organized and posted dynamic content that represents the full breadth of who we are and what we do here at the Nashville Symphony — our concerts, our musicians, our education programs, you name it. We are a better institution for all of the incredible work that she has done, and she’ll be greatly missed.

In her own words: “I have enjoyed my nearly two years with the organization. Over 16,000 tweets and 2,200 Facebook posts later — totaling 204 million impressions — we have grown a great community on 11 platforms having 500+ conversations a week. I look forward to working with new clients as effectively!””
— Sr. Director of Marketing|Communications, Nashville Symphony
“Nancy put together a intensive 2 day workshop for Engage Kingsport and Kingsport Cultural Arts. The workshops gave individual artists the confidence and tools they need to enter the Social Media world as well as helped regional arts organizations refine and enhance their current social media strategies.”
— Bonnie Macdonald, Director, City of Kingsport Office of Cultural Arts
“Nancy was fun and informative. As the Luncheon Keynote Speaker for the Tennessee Conference on Social Welfare, Nancy provided great insight to a representation of over 20 different social service agencies. Her presentation spoke to each agency and everyone left with a more forward thinking mindset of social media and how it can be most effective and beneficial in telling their agency’s story! We loved Nancy!”
— LaTamera Woodley, LAPSW