Terrie Reeves ’85 has trained as a dancer, worked as a marketer, competed as an athlete and succeeded in sales.

But she didn’t find her life’s work until she wove those roles together.

In 2004, Terrie founded Wellness Coalition America, a Charlotte-based firm that empowers people to live healthy lifestyles. Through educational videos, newsletters and online materials, the organization provides information and inspiration to more than 200,000 clients seeking to make informed health decisions.

The seeds for the endeavor were planted early. Terrie started dance lessons as a little girl to correct her pigeon-toed stance. “I took to dancing like a fish to water,” Terrie says. “Even at a young age, I found great solace in dancing.”

She continued to perform at UNCG while pursuing a degree in communication studies. After graduation, she worked for communication firms, magazines — even the Carolina Panthers — as her day jobs. In her personal time she expanded her athletic repertoire, winning medals in aerobics competitions and starring in a series of workout tapes. “I was very passionate about it,” she says. “It was so much fun, staying involved in some type of movement and activity.”

But as she got older, Terrie realized a healthy lifestyle required more than training for a competition or race. “I became increasingly more aware of total body awareness as I matured as an adult, recognizing wellness is not just moving your body but feeding your body and maintaining your body,” she says. “It’s training for life.”

Five years ago she married those passions to create Wellness Coalition America. “It was an opportunity to take my business background and passion for movement and exercise and wellness and package that into a company whose mission was to empower people though education to make more involved decisions regarding their health,” she says.

It’s a message that resonates as people seek to live longer, healthier lives. “The brand is growing strong, the mission and vision is getting bigger because we’re actively touching lives.”