Deborah K. Reed became the director of the Tennessee Reading Research Center and joined the faculty as the senior literacy scholar at the University of Tennessee in 2022. She was the director of the Iowa Reading Research Center from 2015–2022.

Reed spent the first 10 years of her career as an English language arts and reading teacher as well as a reading specialist, working primarily with students exhibiting serious reading difficulties. Since 2003, she has been a researcher and technical assistance provider in numerous states. She has published extensively and continues to research methods for improving reading instruction and assessment, particularly for vulnerable populations.