Ralph Reed

Ralph Eugene Reed Jr. (born June 24, 1961) is an American political consultant and lobbyist, best known as the first executive director of the Christian Coalition during the early 1990s.

He moved with his family to Toccoa, Georgia, in 1976, earning Eagle Scout at BSA Troop 77 and graduating from Stephens County High School in 1979.

He was later profiled in Gang of Five by Nina Easton, along with Grover Norquist and other young activists who got their start in that 1980s era.

In 1981, Reed moved to Washington, D.C., to intern at the College Republican National Committee (CRNC).

At the CRNC, Jack Abramoff, Norquist and Reed formed what was known as the "Abramoff-Norquist-Reed triumvirate."

In 1983, Reed, then a senior at the University of Georgia, wrote a column for The Red & Black with the headline "Gandhi: Ninny of the Twentieth Century."

Shortly after Reed's article ran, another student wrote in and made a compelling case that "every assertion, every quote, and several seemingly original Reed phrases may be found directly or in slightly modified form" in a commentary article by Richard Grenier.

Reed was then discharged from his role on the college newspaper for plagiarism.

Reed was a member of the Demosthenian Literary Society, the Jasper Dorsey Intercollegiate Debate Society, and College Republicans.

He is also an alumnus of the Leadership Institute in Arlington, Virginia, an organization that teaches conservative Americans how to influence public policy through activism and leadership.

Abramoff promoted Reed in 1983, appointing him to succeed Norquist as Executive Director of the CRNC.

Norquist would later serve as President of Americans for Tax Reform, in Washington, D.C.

Reed has said that, in September 1983, he had a religious experience while at Bullfeathers, an upscale pub in Capitol Hill that was popular with staffers (and, to a lesser extent, members) of the House of Representatives.

Regarding the experience, Reed said "the Holy Spirit simply demanded me to come to Jesus".

He walked outside the pub to a phone booth, thumbed through the yellow pages under "Churches," and found the Evangelical Assembly of God Church in Camp Springs, Maryland.

He visited the next morning and became a born-again Christian.

After receiving his AB he moved to Raleigh, North Carolina to help start and lead Students for America (SFA), a conservative activist group supported by U.S. Senator Jesse Helms.

SFA became largely dominated by members of Maranatha Campus Ministries, and this brought Reed into contact with Ed Buckham and Jim Backlin, the current Legislative Director of the Christian Coalition.

Reed's links to Tom DeLay were forged through his association with Buckham and Backlin.

SFA established chapters on college campuses up and down the East Coast and held conferences.

Among other issues, SFA supported Helms' bid for re-election and organized abortion clinic protests.

Reed was temporarily arrested during an abortion protest at the Fleming Center Abortion Clinic in Raleigh but was not charged with any crime.

He attended the University of Georgia where he earned an BA in history in 1985.

Reed served as a columnist and editor of the college newspaper, The Red & Black.

Reed and his wife JoAnne Young were married in 1987 and have four children.

He is a member of the Council for National Policy.

Born in Portsmouth, Virginia, to Navy ophthalmologist Ralph Reed and mother Marcy Reed, young Ralph moved often as a child, but spent the majority of his childhood in Miami, Florida.

director of "Americans for Robertson" in 1988.

Reed led the organization from 1989 to 1997.

After Reed left SFA for a bigger job at the Christian Coalition, SFA faded out of existence by the early 1990s.

Reed was hired by religious broadcaster and Presidential candidate Pat Robertson as executive director of the Christian Coalition in Virginia Beach, Virginia.

Robertson, his son, Gordon P. Robertson, Dick Weinold, a Robertson activist from Texas, and Billy McCormack, a pastor from Shreveport, Louisiana, were the original four directors of the organization.

McCormack also held the title of "vice president" and had been his state

Reed obtained his PhD in American history from Emory University in 1991.

Reed spent much of his college career as a political activist, taking six years to earn his undergraduate degree.

He started with the University of Georgia College Republicans, steadily rising to state and then national leadership.

After Republicans lost in the 1996 elections many thought Reed would not be long for the Coalition, and would soon depart seeking new challenges.

Some alleged that another factor in Reed's decision was an investigation by Federal prosecutors due to charges made by the Christian Coalition's former chief financial officer, Judy Liebert, Reed resigned from his post, and moved to Georgia.

He sought the Republican nomination for the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia but lost the primary election on July 18, 2006, to state Senator Casey Cagle.

Reed started the Faith and Freedom Coalition in June 2009.