Reed was first elected to the Northside ISD Board in 1990 and served for 31 years, making her the longest-serving NISD Trustee and the longest-serving public official in Bexar County. She is also Past President of the Texas Association of School Boards (TASB), an organization that works on behalf of all 1,030 Texas school districts.
Reed is a Past Chair of the 30-member Board of Directors of the Alamo Area Council of Governments which is a Board of elected officials from 13 counties who deal with regional issues and programs. She is a past Board Member of the Master Leadership Program, a United Way of Bexar County program that educates adults on volunteerism and community activities. She also serves on several committees for the Greater San Antonio Chamber of Commerce. She is a member of three neighborhood associations and is a member and Past Chair of The Salvation Army Advisory Board, the Women and Children's Advisory Committee, and the Boys and Girls Club.
Reed is a recipient of the Dolph and Janey Briscoe Lifetime Achievement Award from the United Way for her numerous community volunteer activities and received a Legacy Award from the San Antonio Chamber of Commerce in 2015. In 2003, Reed was inducted into the San Antonio Women's Hall of Fame, and in 2005, she was recognized at the San Antonio Business Journal’s Women’s Leadership Awards. She also is an Honorary Life Member of the National PTA. In 2018, Reed received a North Star Award from the San Antonio Women's Chamber of Commerce. In 2019, she was honored as an Education Trailblazer by the Northwest Democrats of San Antonio.
Reed grew up and attended public schools in Omaha, Nebraska, graduated from The University of Missouri at Columbia, and taught in public schools in Missouri and Oklahoma. Reed’s husband, Jim, is the President of the San Antonio Medical Foundation. Their children, Phillip and Holly attended Clark High School and Texas A&M University. The Reeds have three grandchildren; the oldest is a first-grade teacher in the Houston area.