Smeal College of Business

Reeds create fund at Smeal to address pressing social issues

The $250,000 commitment will create the Greg and Melissa Reed Global Social Impact Fund

Greg (left) and Melissa Reed (second from right), pictured with their children, Harrison (second from left) and Jessica (right), have made a commitment to the Penn State Smeal College of Business to prepare students to address ESG (environmental, social and governance) issues when they enter the workforce. Credit: Photo providedAll Rights Reserved.

UNIVERSITY PARK, Pa. — Penn State Smeal College of Business alumnus and Board of Visitors member Greg Reed and his wife, Melissa, have made a $250,000 commitment to create the Greg and Melissa Reed Global Social Impact Fund at Smeal.

The Reeds’ gift will receive a $62,500 match from Charities Aid Foundation, a United Kingdom-based charity with a goal to accelerate progress in society toward a fair and sustainable future for everyone.

The Greg and Melissa Reed Global Social Impact Fund will benefit the work of Smeal’s Center for the Business of Sustainability, Tarriff Center for Business Ethics and Social Responsibility, and the Office of Diversity Enhancement Programs; moreover, the fund will assist in addressing pressing social issues such as sustainable housing, gender inequality, climate change, racial justice and more.

Charles H. Whiteman, John and Karen Arnold Dean of Smeal, said that the Reeds’ priorities and passions align perfectly with those of the college.

“The Reeds see ESG (environmental, social and governance) as being fundamental to an organization’s role in society. Greg and Melissa bring a conviction that our graduates should be prepared to make an impact when they enter the workforce, to his work with our Board of Visitors, and they are backing that up with this gift,” Whiteman said. “I am so grateful to them for their vision and leadership in this space.”

Greg Reed, the group CEO of Places for People, the largest social enterprise — a business with a social or environmental mission — in the U.K., said that sustainability and social impact has to be the core of any organization’s credo.

“Our natural resources are finite, and our use of some natural resources is hastening damage to the planet, so we should be doing everything we can, and actually more. It’s the same with social impact. It’s another part of the duty of care we have,” he said. “My work at Places for People has shown me that society needs more non-dividend paying social enterprises, and that’s what our gift is designed to create and support.”

Greg Reed graduated from Penn State in 1991 with a degree in finance. He went on to earn a juris doctor from Widener University Delaware Law School in 1996. A 22-year resident of the U.K., Greg previously held senior roles at Bank of America, NatWest and, most recently, U.K. CEO at HomeServe PLC.

Greg said that he is passionate about helping to solve the U.K.’s housing crisis. Prior to taking on his current role at Places for People, Greg was a non-executive director with Clarion Housing Group, the U.K.’s largest housing association, for five years and also chaired Clarion Futures, its charitable foundation.

Melissa Reed earned both an undergraduate degree in elementary education and teaching, a master’s degree in curriculum and instruction from the University of Delaware, and “is a very proud Blue Hen.” She taught in a fifth-grade classroom for the Lake Forest School District in Harrington, Delaware, before the move across the Atlantic.

Today, she is an employment adviser with The Wise Group in Edinburgh, Scotland, where she helps people who have been unemployed for some time to transition back into work.

Greg said that while it took some time in his career to realize the importance of creating something that has a purpose and delivers social impact, he was excited to see that many young people today come to college with these aspirations.

“So many of the things I’ve been able to achieve in life are because of the support I received as a Smeal student. Melissa and I want to help our future leaders get a foot on the ladder toward a more equitable and sustainable future,” he said. “That’s why we are giving back.”

Last Updated July 21, 2022

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