AAMU Alumna of the Year Carries Legacy of Bulldog Pride into National HBCU Football Showcase

When Alabama A&M University takes the national stage in Atlanta for the 2026 Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge, Natashia R. Reese will be among the Bulldogs filling Center Parc Stadium when Alabama A&M faces Howard University on Saturday, Aug. 29. For Reese, the game is another chance to bring alumni together, support her alma mater and show a national audience the strength of the AAMU community.

“Connected would be an understatement,” Reese said of her relationship with AAMU. “It’s like my second full-time job!”

Reese and fellow members of the Metro Atlanta Alumni Chapter are helping turn the occasion into what she calls a “Bulldogs Takeover Atlanta,” with activities planned throughout the weekend. Events include a kickoff pep rally, the chapter’s 21st Annual Scholarship Golf Tournament, Bulldogs at The Battery, HBCU Night at the Atlanta Braves game and game-day activities.

A Birmingham, Alabama, native, Reese earned a Master of Science in microbiology from AAMU in 2010. She has worked as a clinical microbiologist for the federal government for more than 15 years and joined the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in 2016. Her work has taken her across the United States and abroad, helping detect and respond to infectious diseases and strengthening laboratory capacity to address emerging public health threats.

Throughout her career, Reese has contributed to responses involving H1N1 influenza, West Nile virus, Zika virus and COVID-19. She has authored scientific publications, developed laboratory protocols used nationally and internationally, trained laboratory professionals and provided diagnostic services to veterans. Earlier in her career, she was selected for the CDC Emerging Infectious Disease Laboratory Training Fellowship. She has also served as an adjunct professor, teaching biological sciences and introducing students to careers in health and science.

Reese credits Alabama A&M with providing the scientific foundation that helped prepare her for that work.

“I chose AAMU for grad school because I wanted to learn science at a high level from scientists that looked like the ones I looked up to and hoped to become like George Washington Carver and Charles Drew,” Reese said. “I am extremely grateful for the decision I made to attend AAMU for graduate school, and it has been the foundation to my professional success.”

Her connection to Alabama A&M, however, began long before graduate school. Growing up in Birmingham, Reese rarely missed the Magic City Classic and said AAMU was her family’s school of choice.

Although Reese is the first in her immediate family to graduate from college, her extended family includes several AAMU alumni. Among them are her great-uncles, the late Dr. Phillip L. Redrick, who served the University in several roles, including director of alumni affairs and dean of the School of Education, and Ralph T. Redrick. Several cousins also attended AAMU, continuing a family connection that can still be seen when they gather for Bulldog football games.

That legacy has helped fuel Reese’s own commitment to The Hill.

A life member of the Alabama A&M Alumni Association Inc. and a 150th Anniversary donor, Reese has chaired committees and led alumni initiatives at the local and national levels since 2020. She currently serves the Metro Atlanta Alumni Chapter as financial secretary and membership chairman and holds several national leadership roles, including vice president of Region III and national membership chairman.

Her signature efforts include launching AAMU ATL Day, leading AAMU Night at the Atlanta Hawks and creating Tech Talks to expand opportunities for alumni to connect virtually. Her service earned her the Alease S. Sims Leadership Award in 2022 and the William Hooper Councill Award in 2025.

That commitment also earned Reese recognition as the Alabama A&M Alumni Association’s Alumna of the Year.

“I hope this recognition will inspire other millennial alums to get involved and to give back to AAMU and the AAMU Alumni Association,” Reese said.

For Reese, alumni engagement is not simply about attending events. She sees graduates as visible examples of what an Alabama A&M education can help students achieve.

“If we want Alabama A&M to continue to grow and our students to continue to succeed, alumni must remain involved,” Reese said. “Whether through mentorship, volunteering, advocacy, financial support, or simply showing up, every alumnus has something valuable to contribute.”

Saturday’s nationally televised season opener gives Reese and fellow Metro Atlanta alumni an opportunity to do exactly that — show up.

As Bulldogs from Atlanta and beyond converge on Center Parc Stadium, Reese’s message to alumni reflects the example she hopes they will set for the next generation.

“Let them see you,” Reese said. “Let them see what a graduate of Alabama A&M University can become. Your success, service, and commitment can inspire the next generation of Bulldogs to dream bigger and achieve more.”

Learn more about upcoming events and activities from the AAMU Metro Atlanta Alumni Chapter, and get tickets for the 2026 Cricket MEAC/SWAC Challenge.