Kim Hunter Reed, Ph.D., is Louisiana’s Commissioner of Higher Education. She is currently the only female in the country to have served as a state higher education leader in multiple states. Reed is a proven advocate for students who has worked effectively at campus, state, and federal levels. She was recognized nationally as the 2020 Exceptional Leader by the State Higher Education Executive Officers Association (SHEEO).
Along with the Louisiana Board of Regents, Reed leads the state’s talent development efforts, focused on increasing educational attainment, erasing achievement gaps, and increasing prosperity. To reach the state’s goal of doubling the number of credentials awarded annually by 2030, she focuses on transformational policies and deep collaboration, advancing the Regents’ talent imperative.
In support of that vision, Louisiana’s institutions are focused on strengthening the state’s education-to-employment pipeline, accelerating student success, reskilling and training those seeking new career opportunities, finding solutions through research and discovery, and contributing significantly to the state’s post-pandemic economic recovery.
In January 2023, Reed was named as one of the nation’s Top 10 Black higher education leaders by Forbes, which stated “Louisiana’s top higher ed exec is unrivaled, the absolute best among state-level leaders.” In April 2023, she was named co-chair of the national Higher Education Climate Action Task Force, which is part of the Aspen Institute’s This is Planet Ed initiative.
Reed is a nationally recognized student advocate with extensive higher education and government experience. In addition to leading the Colorado Department of Higher Education, she served in President Obama’s administration as deputy undersecretary at the U.S. Department of Education. She led the White House Initiative on Historically Black Colleges and Universities. Collectively, Reed has served in various senior leadership roles with four governors.
A Lake Charles native, Reed received a doctorate in public policy from Southern University and A&M College, as well as a master’s degree in public administration and a bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism from Louisiana State University and A&M College. She also served as Chief of Staff and Deputy Commissioner for Public Affairs for the Louisiana Board of Regents, as well as an adjunct faculty member and Executive Vice President at the University of Louisiana System.
She is a wife, proud mom to her favorite two-time Millsaps College graduate and LSU Law student, and Louisiana’s chief advocate for talent development.