Will Reed has been given the ability to pursue a dream through the successful, non-profit organization, Technology For All. The organization's mission is "to bring technology and the opportunities it provides to low-income and underserved persons across the nation," says Reed.

Technology For All (TFA) originated in a conversation between friends. While serving as minister at Christ United Methodist Church in Sugar Land, Reed met and became friends with a man who had been very successful in his business ventures. "One day he told me that he would like to give back to the community," Reed says. From that conversation Technology For All-Houston was born.

As a founding board member and first executive director of Technology For All-Houston, Reed is now President and Chief Executive Officer of Technology For All-Houston and Technology For All, Inc., the national organization founded in 2000 to represent local initiatives such as Technology For All-Houston, Technology For All-Colorado and others. He had worked previously as the Director of Development for the Samaritan Center for Counseling and Education in Houston. In March 1998, Technology For All-Houston built its first computer lab at the M.D. Anderson YMCA, located in a predominantly Hispanic community on Houston's north side.

Reed says, "The main function of Technology For All is to provide grassroots organizations with the materials, resources and services necessary to create community technology centers (CTCs) in places such as YMCAs, churches and community centers." Currently the nationwide organization provides services to 300 community based organizations in 42 U.S. cities and has local affiliates in Houston, Colorado, and Cleveland, Ohio.

To qualify for the services Technology For All provides, the organization must have an active program and be willing to commit volunteer hours to the project of building the centers. Reed strongly believes in the power of volunteer work, noting that Technology for All was "built on volunteerism." He also endorses the right for underserved families to have access to technology. "Education is the foundation for personal success," he says.

Corporations donate their out-dated, but still useful, hardware to Technology For All, which then distributes it to the community organizations. The company also receives donations from educational software companies and funding from private donations.

"One of the main goals facilitated by the computer labs is giving the community the opportunity to take advantage of various online educational resources," Reed says. Everything from after-school programs to adult vocational training is supported with online content. TFA has an extensive array of online courses and workforce development training tools in its "eSource Room".

Reed attended Southwestern University as a familial tradition. Both parents and his brother J.P. '79 attended. He first visited the campus under the influence of his parents, but instantly "became enamored with it." He says that Southwestern provides students with "the opportunity to get to know folks well, both teachers and students." He feels that this is Southwestern's most rewarding feature.

After graduating from Southwestern, Reed went to Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas where he received his Master of Theology and Doctor of Ministry degrees. He and his spouse, Karen, have three children, Amanda, 20, Keri, 24 and Adam, 22. He enjoys cooking, teaching Sunday school at Clear Lake United Methodist Church in Houston and hanging out with the cows at his family ranch in Central Texas.