James W. Reed

Deputy Commissioner
Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs

A man with more than 12,000 e-mail addresses at his fingertips, James W. Reed is a master communicator and a friend to hundreds of organizations from local community groups to the United Nations.

For more than 25 years, Reed has used his extraordinary network of connections to help others. And through both his role as deputy commissioner of the Nassau County Office of Consumer Affairs and his work with civic and charitable organizations, it’s easy to see that education is his priority.

A super-distinguished lieutenant governor of Kiwanis, Reed is responsible for a $75 million program with UNICEF and a permanent worldwide children’s program, “Young Children: Priority One,” which addresses the needs of children, pre-natal to age 6. Reed also assists more than 150 not-for-profit organizations, sits on the boards of several organizations and acts as an advisor to numerous others.

For the past three years, he has opened the doors of his county office to high school students from Nassau BOCES’ Barry Tech who participate in internships to augment the career and technical education skills they learn in their classrooms. This year, teenagers studying police science and business services skills were matched with a mentor in Reed’s office.

Reed has been involved in just about every area where there is a need in underserved communities. He has been involved in food rescue efforts to help those less fortunate; literacy programs for youth and adults; pedestrian, bicycle and vehicle safety programs; early childhood development and education; child care support and improvement programs and community beautification programs.

He believes in public education and gives 300 speeches a year on identity theft, frauds, scams, sting operations and the “horrors” of home improvement.

Reed, an Oceanside resident, is the proud father of three teenage daughters, Danielle, 21, and 19-yearold twins, Brittany and Stephanie.