43. Breaking Stereotypes & Building Representation with Guest Heather Reese

All opinions expressed in this episode are Heather Reese’s only and do not represent any firm or organization she is associated with.

In this inspiring episode, Whitney sits down with Heather Reese - a Philadelphia-based personal injury lawyer, model, and activist-to unpack what it means to defy stereotypes and stand for representation. From being adopted from Peru to becoming a passionate advocate for Latinas in law and business, Heather shares how she uses her platform to amplify marginalized voices, especially through her Instagram series that highlights Latina and Latinx-owned businesses. She discusses the intentionality behind her purchases, how she combines content creation with activism, and why self-love is one of the boldest things a woman can express. This conversation is full of real talk, relatable chaos, and actionable inspiration for creatives, entrepreneurs, and advocates alike.

Key Topics:

• Redefining what a lawyer “looks like”
• Using Instagram to uplift Latina/Latinx-owned businesses
• Creating visibility in underrepresented industries
• Self-love and body confidence in content creation
• How advocacy shows up in everyday choices
• Supporting small businesses ethically and intentionally
• Free ways to uplift creators and communities

Connect with Heather:

• Instagram: Heather_rxoxo

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Transcript

0:00

Welcome to Caffeinated Chaos, where business deals happen between diaper changes and friendships are fueled by caffeine. I'm Whitney GaN, your host, and I'm here to talk all things business parenthood, and of course keeping up with the BFFs, whether you're juggling the boardroom, the playroom, or just here for some coffee fuel chaos. We've got you covered. Get ready for real talk, laughs and a whole lot of heart as we dive into the beautiful mess that is entrepreneurship, parenthood, and everything in between. So let's embrace the chaos together. Ated, of course. Our guest, Heather Reese, is a personal injury lawyer in Philadelphia, passionate about justice, adopted from Peru. She advocates for Latinas and inspires young women to pursue their dreams alongside with her legal career. She's a model and activist using her platform to promote representation and equality in law and beyond. Let's welcome Heather to the podcast. Welcome to the podcast, Heather. How are you? I'm good, how are you? Good. Let me start with this question. So we are Caffe chaos, right? So are you drinking anything caffeinated? Because right now I am drinking a coke. Oh, I was just drinking a diet Coke. Nice. Okay, so we're on the same wavelength already. So how are you doing? How are you doing today? I'm good, tired. I'm moving. Oh, wow. A bit chaotic around here, but, I'm excited for a new adventure. Nice. Like, is it a far move? No. It's still in the same state, so not too far. Oh. Nice. Nice. Okay. Cool. All right. So Heather, let's tell my audience a little bit about yourself. So how do you describe yourself? So usually I just say that I am a content creator slash model. And then I like weave in at the end that I'm also a lawyer. Oh, you're just gonna slide that right in? Yeah. Yeah. Okay. So you would say that first you're a content creator then, right? Yeah, I mean, I would say that like first I feel like I I am a content creator slash activist and then I would say I love modeling. And then the last thing I like to say is that I'm a lawyer'cause I don't really fit like the stereotype of what people think lawyers are. So, and I always say like, I think being a lawyer is like the least interesting thing about me. Okay. What would you say is the most interesting thing about you? I guess I would say that I, you know, I really, love myself and I think self-confidence in women, in millennial women and in plus size women is like a foreign concept a lot of the time. So I would say that is definitely to me, the most interesting thing about me and I'm adopted, but also. I like how, I, like how you say a bunch of things and then you like throw in a little something at the end and you're just like, oh, contact creation. And I'm adopted and I'm like, wait, okay. Where are we going next? Because it's keeping me on my toes. Okay. Let's start with, what kind of content do you create and, what's your audience? So I showcase Latino, Latina and Latinx businesses on Instagram. Mm-hmm. So I work with, small businesses, big businesses to gain visibility for the Latina community. And that started about last year during Hispanic Heritage Month. I made a thread, saying I wanted to like showcase businesses'cause. I am a lawyer and in the legal community, Latinas only make up 2.5% of lawyers. Wow. And I said, well, that's like definitely not enough. And then I said, well, what other fields are we being underrepresented in? And I saw that we were under Latinas. We're underrepresented in almost every field. And it's not that they're not there, it's that visibility isn't there for them. Mm-hmm. So it's not that they're not out there making these products. They are. It's just that it's not the first thing you think of. The first thing you think of is like insert a big box brand name. Right. Right. So I said, what can I do? It's just like your everyday Latina to create visibility for the community. And I said, I can do, show, do so in, creating a series on Instagram where I showcase them. Awesome. That's so cool because I literally just met another podcaster. And he is, his whole show too is talking about locals and their community and their businesses and like their, basically just the people themselves. And he's from a very small town next to ours and yeah, I think that. You two would probably be awesome to connect too. I wish I remembered his name. Listeners, when I look him up, I'll put it in the show notes'cause I wanna shout out his podcast too. He does seasons instead of like weekly episodes. So right now he's in the off season, which is why I can't remember his name. That's smart. That's probably like really easygoing. I said I was only gonna, I said I was gonna do'em once a month. Mm-hmm. And then I ended up doing them once a week and now I think I do them like twice a week.'cause it really depends on how many businesses I have. Like. Lined up. Mm-hmm.'cause like it really depends on how many packages I have at my house that I'm, that. So, yeah, I mean, I, it really, it varies. I think I'm gonna go back to once a week'cause it is hard, especially,'cause I do a lot of speaking engagements now. Yeah. And I'm doing a lot for them. So I wanna do more of like, on the go, like finding Latina. Every time I travel I always, you know, go on threads and I say like, need a Latina makeup artist in whatever city I'm state I'm going in and I work with Oh, that's awesome. Work with them. The same thing with photographers. So I think I'm gonna start doing more businesses in those areas too. So wherever I travel, like I'm doing, you know, on the go showcasing so I can show them,'cause I have to be in that city anyway. Right. I might as well showcase them as well.'cause I really try hard to be intentional with my money and spending and where I'm putting it. And the same thing with like, my fiance. I always say to him like, you know, whenever we like go out for like a birthday or a holiday, I am like, Hey, make sure it's like a Latina owned business. We just went to a Peruvian restaurant for Valentine's Day. Like I said, I try to be pretty intentional with the way that I, use my money. I know I'm giving it to. Yeah, no, I completely understand because, so we, me and my husband, so I'm Filipino and my husband is g Romanian mixed. And so we always try to do Pacific Islander, Filipino food, or like artists and that kind of thing also, we work with, this nonprofit in Watsonville, which is the city next to mine, and they feature, artists. Latino and Latino, descent. And so their whole thing is helping those who are usually underrepresented in the artist community find work and professional development. Which is actually where I met the podcaster, at one of the events. And so it's really nice to see that people are. You know, using this as their passion and advocating to, you know, like you said, be intentional with where your money is going and supporting, not the big name box all the time. You know? Absolutely. Absolutely. And I was just trying to think, I was just like looking on my Instagram really quickly.'cause I think I partnered with one who is, um. South Asian inspired. So there's a company called Cultured Sense Company and they do Latina inspired and South Asian inspired sense, with a story behind each candle. So they're really cool. You struck that one. Yeah, I do. I love going, I don't know about you, but I love going to like. Random cities and then somebody I'll like be like, oh, is there a farmer's market or is there like a popup market event happening? And I love a popup. I love a popup. I like find so many people that I like vibe with. And now I'm not, I'm like business friends with and I'm just like. Let me add you, let me, support you, let me do this. And then, but also their products are so good, you know, and you can definitely tell the difference when something is handmade by an artisan, you know? Absolutely. And I also think like, you know where your dollars are going. And I think that's the bigger thing for me is that when I know where. Where I'm putting the money and I can see it in the families, I can see it in the founder. You know, to me that means something, right? Like I, I don't wanna give to big box brands that don't give a, you know, hoot about, you know, the community. There are some that do, and I'm not saying they don't. I mean, I also think being able to buy small brand is somewhat of a privilege because the stuff is a little bit more expensive than, if you're going to buy from like a fast fashion company or somewhere pretty cheap. That's true. But I also think, you know, you kind of gotta put your money where your mouth is. Either you care about doing it or you don't care about doing it. And, I think that's the struggle that most people internalize, right? Is that they wanna care, but it is that extra money. But then you're gonna have to spend money a little bit less somewhere else, to be like, you know, eco-conscious about it, sustainable, just, ethical with the way that, the items are being made and being manufactured and such. Yeah. Yeah, totally. And also along the lines of that too, is spending money within your own community too, I'm putting my money into a small business owner who may be an extra block away, you know? So that kind of thing. Absolutely. I think supporting small businesses is really great. I know there was a huge push, like small business Saturday. And I think that that's so important because small businesses are the crux of what, a lot of, minority communities are, are living off of. And I think you need to, you know, be conscious and you're right, it is maybe an extra block, but is it worth that extra block? I mean, for me, I think it is. Yeah. Cool. And is this kind of what your advocacy is a around or do you have more of a different focus as well? Yeah, I mean, I advocate for women's rights and I would say that's a big portion of what I do as well. You know, I go to the women's marches. But I would say the, the, the promoting big or small brands, small businesses and bipoc businesses is definitely the huge crux of my, activism. Yeah. And I think also too, going back to your point where you are saying that you're doing these features on your social media too, and if somebody, you know, maybe an artisan is outta someone's price range, but it costs nothing to promote that person. If that's what you can do, then that's, you know, that helps too. So listeners like you don't have, don't feel like we're saying, like, you have to go buy this if you don't have the money to do so. There are free ways to support. Local, you know, artisans, local, small businesses in your area. So absolutely it takes zero money to, like, comment, share and engagement is huge for small businesses. Engagement is huge for creators as a whole. Right, right. So, I mean, even just liking, commenting, pushing, because you never know which one of your friends is gonna see it. Right. You never know. What that post could show to the next person, and then maybe they are in a position to be able to get it today and you're in a position to be able to get it next week or in a month or in a year. You know what I mean? Yeah. You don't know that the connections that you're helping build along the way. Right. Like conversations can get started from that. Right. Oh, I remember seeing that on your page. You know, that actually happened to me not that long ago. I was at, I was speaking at a conference, a Latina. Legal conference. And in the gift bags there was, soap from this company called Naked Bar Soap, which is a Latina owned soap company. And I had promoted it. I had, made a video about it, and the woman who was throwing it, Kimberly, she's amazing. She runs Latina legal minds. She was like, oh, I saw it on your page. That's how I heard about it. And I'm like, that's so great to see. You know, you get to see the movement moving forward and, you know, I just think. That's great for small businesses, it's really great'cause it's not, even if I didn't buy something from them, somebody else saw it because of what I posted and then they were able to buy something from it. Right? Yeah. And I think that's equally as important and equally as helpful. Mm-hmm. Yeah. Awesome. Yeah, 100%. Okay, so let's shift gears a little bit. Okay. Because you mentioned it. You are adopted. We're just shifting like you shift So adopted from Per I'm adopted. From Per, also, yeah. So, okay. I mean, my mom is from the Philippines and so she constantly is just like, what can we do that's like Filipino inspired or this, and wanting to bring her culture to me and my siblings. You know, growing up we learned all the Filipino dances. We tried to keep the heritage alive too. Do you feel like you have a connection to Peru still? I don't know how young you were when you got adopted. Yeah, so I was a few weeks old. Okay. Say for sure. Yeah. I, I think so. I was raised, I was adopted by, my mom, she's Jewish, and my dad who's like. An agnostic hippie from California. Me and my sister and brother were all adopted. We're adopted from different, my sister's also adopted from improvement. My brother's adopted from Honduras, and our parents were always super honest about us being adopted. We had maps of our countries, when we were growing. That's so awesome. We had toys from our countries. They had brought back, like, jewelry boxes that had little trinkets from our countries. You know, it was never a secret. And I'm, and I think that that's, you know. A beautiful thing, we always knew where we came from. I would say I didn't really, start connecting to with my culture, as much and s about two years ago when I went through a divorce. Okay. Because I think for me, when I was younger, I went to a Jewish school, a private Jewish school from K through sixth grade. Don't think there were any Latinas there. And when I went to public school, there wasn't, a lot of Latinas that I knew or hung out with, and I never really identified as Latina. Right. Because the only experience and interaction I'd ever had with Latinas was that I wasn't Latina enough.'cause I didn't speak Spanish straight.'cause I was. I was adopted and my mom, you know, I went to a Jewish school and I learned Hebrew and I never learned Spanish. And I think I had always kind of, like teetered on two different, like. Two different like cultures, right? I was never really white enough for white people. And then I was never really Latina enough for Latina people. But I think, you know, once I, I went through this massive shift when I went through a divorce, I said, I'm gonna define myself. I'm gonna choose how I define myself moving forward, and I'm gonna, and I was looking for a community. I was looking for really anything to try to connect with. And I think, what I had always heard and what I had always learned is that, the Latina community is really, really, really huge into protecting themselves and each other. And, family is super important and, like, community is important. And I said, well, I really need to find something. And, I searched for that, I looked for that. And I met some amazing people, some other amazing other Peruvians, amazing other Latinas in the community that really embraced me. And, it helped me on a journey to be able to connect with my culture. And I think the series is a real, I. Passion project and birth of that. Right. It was really my love story to my culture and my love story to my life to say like, here is me giving back in any capacity that I can. And it's also me falling back in love with something that I never really know. I love that story. Like that's such a, to think that. This is something that started like two years ago and seeing how passionate you are when you talk about it too, and how what you've done in the past two years is so inspiring. What would you say to somebody who is maybe like you, like, you know, started off disconnected from their past, or their culture and now they're starting that journey like you had done two years ago? What would you say would be like a first step so that to ease their way into it? Yeah. I mean, I would say like, accept vulnerability and accept that you're gonna have to be vulnerable in the people and the ways that you communicate about yourself. Right. I had been in 30, I. Therapy a majority of my life. And I think what a great tool that therapy teaches you is being self-aware and also being able to communicate and express your emotions in a way that is somewhat digestible for the people around you. And I think for me, like I knew I needed to be vulnerable in order to be able to. Really connect and be embraced. Mm-hmm. And I said, this is something I'm willing to do because this is something I truly care about. I wanna learn about my culture, I wanna learn about my people. I wanna learn about all of the things that I've missed out on. Yeah. And I, I think that's what I would say, you know. Be, be vulnerable and let yourself be vulnerable and then go after every opportunity. I never, I try to never say no to an opportunity and I try to go after everything that I want. And I think that's a big thing that I always push people to do, especially women, is if you wanna take it, because there's nobody out here that's gonna be advocating for you as hard as you can advocate for yourself. Yeah. All of the opportunities that I've gotten in the last two years are ones that I've a, I have ones that I've put myself out for, right. The thread I had started to make the, series was only last September, right. My life has completely changed since Wow. Last August, Hispanic heritage month, last August, September, you know, and then, I went into modeling and that was all from threads too. You know, I, I commented on a thread of somebody looking for a model. My life changed from that, so I would say. Put yourself out there and never be afraid and just kind of like accept that vulnerability is a part of it. And I think that's a tough journey for some people, but it's a beautiful journey if you're willing to do it. That's like also just really advice for anybody, no matter, like if they wanted to like go for a job that they've been thinking about or you know, asking that person out, yeah. I think you just, sometimes it's just taking a leap, I have to ask because we briefly mentioned it. You have a dog? What kind of dog do you have? I have a Chihuahua. Aw. Maybe he'll make an appearance later. He's tatted on my arm though, if that shows. Aw. So I did get him tattooed on my arm. In like a moment of like a midlife crisis. Okay. But I mean, it was great. I love him. He's cute, but yeah, he's, he's off running somewhere. Is Colton kind of like the dog that like runs the house? Oh my God. Yeah. He runs everything. Yeah. My cousin had chihuahuas and they ran the house. Yeah. I don't run anything. I thought I did, and then I met him and I was like, what am I doing? And I got him right when I got divorced. Right. So I got him right when me and my ex-husband, um, broke up. And I remember I almost chickened out from getting it. So I got it from an S-P-C-A-I, I'm a dog rescuer. I believe in that. Yeah. And'cause God knows my family is really big into rescuing dogs, as well. And, so I got him from a rescue and I remember I was looking at all these other dogs and I was actually almost chickening out on getting from him.'cause I was actually like kind of nervous'cause I'm like, oh, there's this big shift. I'm moving in with my sister. You know what am I gonna do? Like, what if he doesn't get along with her dogs, blah, blah, blah. And then they handed me his paperwork and he was born on the day. That my, my ex-husband broke up with me, like left me. Oh, wow. And I was like, this has to be a sign. This has to be like, he was born on this day. And I don't even view that day as a sad day anymore. I view it as the day that my life began. Mm-hmm. The rebirth of my life. And, he was born that day, so I was like, no, no, no. I have to get him. I mean, he, it's a sign from God that he, was, meant for me to get Yeah. Def definitely a sign, because if I saw that too, I'd just be like, yep, you're mine. You're mine, right? Just get, get in the car. Let's go. Right? I was like, I was like, oh my gosh, what am I gonna do with this little dog too? I had also never had little dogs, like I had only ever had like pit bull lab mixes. Mm-hmm. Um, and here I am with this like tiny chihuahua and I'm like. What if he, like, what do I do with him? Like, does he like, I remember IL woods him for a while and he would come to work with little in my purse. And then he got big and then he was like a terror and he was just, my god, not willing to go into the office anymore. And he, like, my boss was so excited to see him one time and he went to like lunch and I was like, oh, he pays our bills. I was like, we're not going back to the office anymore. Oh man. I could just imagine like, because one, you're a lawyer and you have a chihuahua and just now I'm just like, imagine you in all pink, you know? Yeah, no, I do wear pink a lot, but yeah, no, I remember it was a very Elle Woods moment. I think I was wearing a black dress though at the time, and I have a black. Base bag and he's like sitting in it. And I have two base bags. One is like his and one is mine. Yeah. Like the gorgeous croc one. Um, it's like a, oh yeah. So. Heather, before you leave, I wanna talk about something that you said you believe in collaboration over competition. Tell me, tell me more about that. Yeah, for sure. So in the legal community, I would say, and I would say like in the professional women community, there is a lot of competition that occurs. Like I feel like there are so many people, women that are competing with other women, and that's simply not me. I've never competed with another woman. In my mind, I don't think. To be frank, I don't think anybody is competition. Like the only person I'm competing against is the person I was yesterday. Right? Right. I'm always trying to be better than the person I was yesterday, but I don't subscribe to the narration that there is only one seat at the table or that they're somebody else eating is taking food out of my mouth or somebody else Shining is making me less. Making me more dull. And I think a lot of people, a lot of women unfortunately, get wrapped up in that. Yeah. For me, it's just, I've always believed, like I said, in collaboration over competition. I promote other lawyers all the time. I wear other lawyers, merch. I always tell them to send it to me, you know, I'm like, I'm willing to ruin anyone.'cause for me it's not, it's not gonna hurt me. Right. One, it would be doing a disservice to my clients if I said I could take every single client in the world. Right? Right. Clients need attention and they need my, you know, expertise and everything, and I can't do that for every single person. So. Twofold. I think it's a disservice. One, that it wouldn't be great for my clients. Two, it's not good for me. Mm-hmm. And I just think that's really a message I try to send to young women and just women as a whole, is that there are people that are not competing with you. Like there are people that genuinely want your success. I genuinely wanna see women succeed in any field. I wanna see my community succeed. And for me it's not about anything having to do with competition. When one of us wins, we all win. Yeah. And, really do just want, I'm willing to light somebody else's candle. I've never been the type that's like trying to blow out everyone's candle around me. So mine's the only lit one. Mm-hmm. But yeah, I mean, I think that's, that's a huge thing that I stand on and, I think I try to tell other people to do the same.'cause it's important these days that, you know, women are supporting other women. Yeah, I've said it before on the podcast where it's like a high school teacher used to tell us, as you move forward, don't forget to look and reach back. You know?'cause when we all go up the ladder together, then we all rise. So it's absolutely. You shouldn't be trying to kick someone off. Yeah. What's the point? Like what, what does, what does hurting somebody else do for me? Nothing. Right? Nothing. I try to leave the world and leave people and leave things in situations better than I found them. Think that's how I was raised. I think that's how, you know, trauma and life make you right. Like you go through situations and you realize what's important. You realize, being a decent human is important and being kind and genuinely wanting success and happiness for other people in no way harms you. Yeah. And really only makes you a better person. Awesome. Awesome. Well, thank you so much for joining us and like how can people reach out to you if they want to connect? Yeah, for sure. So I'm always looking for some more, bipoc businesses. So any bipoc business owners, no matter how big or how small, please reach out to me. So the biggest platform to reach out to me is on Instagram. My Instagram is. At Heather Rxo xo and I do read all my dms. So please reach out to me, via dm. I would love to collaborate with, anybody. Awesome. And listeners, we will be also putting all this information down in the show notes as well as Heather's bio so you can read a little bit more. And, yeah, thank you so much for joining us today. I really had fun meeting you and Colton. Even though Colton wants nothing to do with me, T wants nothing to do with anyone. Colton only wants his dad. He like, I'm like your dad. Like literally. Hasn't been around for that long and like literally I've been around since day one and it's so crazy. You know, men forget where they go. He's like, he's like this. You're old news. Yeah. He's like, you're old news. And I'm like, what? But yeah, no, featuring Colton as well. That's a wrap on another episode of Caffeinated Chaos. I hope you're leaving with a little more clarity, a lot more inspiration, and maybe even an extra shot of motivation. If you love today's episode, don't forget to follow us. Leave a review and share it with a friend who could use just a little chaos at caffeine in their life. Until next time, keep embracing the mess. Chase your dreams and make magic happen. One caffeinated, chaotic moment at a time. I will see you all soon. Bye now.