Civil rights pioneer and public policy expert Ingrid Reed dies at 88

Ingrid Wagner Reed passed away peacefully on July 27 surrounded by her children. She was 88.

Ingrid loved all things New Jersey, dedicating her life to the enrichment and improvement of the lives of the state’s residents young and old. Her enthusiastic contributions as a feminist pioneer, civil rights advocate, public policy expert, supporter of the arts, environmental leader, local, state, and tri-state regional planning proponent, state and regional government task force leader, and board member and chair of countless New Jersey organizations leaves an enduring legacy. Foremost she was a proud mother and grandmother, supportive wife and life partner, and loyal and supportive friend.

Ingrid was born in 1936 in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, to the late Fred and Ruth (Straumer) Wagner and was raised in Vineland, New Jersey. She graduated as valedictorian of her Vineland High School class. She enrolled as a member of the Class of 1958 at the University of Pennsylvania, Penn’s first class of women, on a full scholarship, graduating Phi Beta Kappa with a degree in economics.

Following graduation, Ingrid moved to New York City, where she met her husband, Marvin Reed. They married in Vineland and settled in Princeton, beginning a more than 60-year partnership supporting each other’s careers, volunteer efforts, families, friends, and neighbors.

In 1961, the family bought a house in “Glen Acres” in West Windsor, a new racially integrated neighborhood where they raised their two children, David and Liza. Shortly thereafter, Ingrid joined the League of Women Voters and began her civic work. In 1972, she ran for West Windsor Township Committee on the platform of forming a master plan for the community. Her bid was unsuccessful, but her focus on planning led to 18 years on the Mercer County Planning Board as the first woman appointee. She served as chair for 11 years. She also joined the Watershed Institute Board of Trustees, serving as chair from 1975 to 1978.

In 1974, Ingrid began a new career at Princeton University’s Princeton School of Public and International Affairs and the family moved to Princeton Borough. She served as director of the Rockefeller Public Service Awards program from 1975 to 1981 and as assistant dean. In 1987, Governor Tom Kean established the Capital City Redevelopment Corporation with Ingrid as chair, a position she held until 2010.

Ingrid’s commitment to improving the state was her motivation in helping to establish New Jersey Future in 1987 — an organization dedicated to advancing policies and practices to curb sprawl and promote redevelopment. She was a founding board member and served on the board for more than 30 years, including time as chair and its first senior fellow. While at Princeton University, Ingrid received a W.K. Kellogg Foundation National Leadership Fellowship, allowing her to study private sector real estate development in Kenya, East Asia, and Chicago.

In 1992, Ingrid became vice president for public affairs and corporate secretary at Rockefeller University in New York City. During this time, she was elected to the National Academy of Public Administration and served on the New Jersey Committee of the Regional Plan Association.

In 1996, she joined the Eagleton Institute at Rutgers University to lead The New Jersey Project for the next 15 years. From 2000 to 2009, Ingrid served on the board of the Community Foundation of New Jersey when the foundation’s assets grew nine-fold. In 2009, Ingrid’s passion for providing voter information and government transparency led to her becoming a founder and board chair at NJ Spotlight. Ingrid also joined the community advisory board of NJ PBS, serving as chair. Her involvement with both organizations helped facilitate the merger of NJ Spotlight with NJTV under WNET in 2019.

Ingrid chaired the Governor’s Task Force on Local Government Ethics Administration from 2009 to 2011. She served on the board and advisory council of the Children’s Committee of Womanspace and actively supported the Princeton Adult School, Arts Council of Princeton, and New Jersey Conservation Foundation. Ingrid was a frequent program host at the Princeton Public Library, including her annual election reviews with MSNBC’s Steve Kornacki. In addition, she was active with AARP New Jersey and was honored with the MVP Award in 2020 for 10 years of service.

In 2015, Ingrid and Marvin moved to the Stonebridge at Montgomery Senior Living Community in Skillman. At Stonebridge, Ingrid created and hosted more than 90 episodes of the “Getting to Know You” video series.

Ingrid found great pleasure in traveling the globe, opera, classical music, art, ballet, theater, and frequent visits to New York City. Ingrid’s local involvement with the Princeton Symphony Orchestra embodied her passion for classical music and conviction that arts are an essential part of communities. Serving on the board, Ingrid was instrumental in developing the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Bravo program, which provides music education to New Jersey public school students, and as an advisor to the Princeton Festival.

Ingrid was predeceased by her husband Marvin Reed, a former mayor of Princeton Borough, in 2020. She was also predeceased by her sister Barbara Suess. She leaves her son David and wife Nan Reed of San Francisco, California; her daughter Elizabeth (Liza) and husband Thomas O’Reilly of Hingham, Massachusetts; her sister Doris and husband Marty Schwartz of East Lansing, Michigan, her sister Susan Levin of Port Hueneme, California; and her grandchildren, Cecilia and husband Raymond C. Smith IV of Boston, Massachusetts; Jacquelyn O’Reilly of Cambridge, Massachusetts; Agnes O’Reilly of Hingham, Massachusetts; and Owen Reed of Boston, Massachusetts.

A celebration of life service will be held at a later date. Please consider honoring Ingrid’s memory by donating to the Princeton Symphony Orchestra Bravo program to benefit the youth who are New Jersey’s future.