Louis L. Reed, LADC, AADC

Louis L. Reed is a nationally recognized social impact leader working at the intersection of justice reform, public health, and cultural change. After serving nearly 14 years in federal prison, Reed became a key contributor to the First Step Act of 2018, helping create pathways to freedom for more than 650,000 people nationwide.

Reed is the EVP of the Douglass Project and has previously held senior leadership roles at Jay-Z’s REFORM Alliance and Van Jones’s Dream.org (formerly #cut50)

A leading voice in narrative change, Reed hosted Illmatic Podcast and is the founder of Decoded: Story Lab, a documentary film production company focused on justice-impacted storytelling. He is the author of Deuce’s First Step, a children’s book for families impacted by incarceration, has consulted on Hulu’s UnPrisoned, and is a special contributor to Holding Liat, a film short-listed for the 2026 Academy Awards.

Reed is a TEDx speaker and was named a Black Leaders Worldwide 2025 Top 25 Leader, recognized by LA Weekly as one of its “Top 5 People to Follow,” and inducted into the Connecticut Hall of Change. His work centers lived experience as expertise and leverages story as a catalyst for durable systems change.