About Me
Ebony Reed is a seasoned journalist, editorial leader, and news strategist. She has extensive knowledge and experience in local, regional, and national journalism, business operations, communications, and diversity-related projects. Ebony joined The Marshall Project in January 2022 as its first-ever Chief Strategy Officer, leading strategy across the organization, managing communications, marketing, and its local markets growth strategy.
Ebony has reported on public school systems, police agencies, and city governments. She led the metro desk at The Detroit News during the 2008 housing crisis. Her journalism work and business development projects have been featured and part of key strategies at global news outlets, including the Associated Press and The Wall Street Journal. At the Wall Street Journal, Ebony was the New Audiences and Community Chief, overseeing four teams of journalists, engineers, designers, and audience experts.
She has also taught at universities and colleges across the United States including Yale’s School of Management, Wayne State University in Detroit, Arizona State University, Cuyahoga Community College in Cleveland, Cleveland State University, Kent State University, Southern New Hampshire University, Emerson College in Boston and the University of Missouri-Columbia where she taught online for a decade before joining in a faculty role in 2017. Ebony received her undergraduate and master’s degrees from The University of Missouri-Columbia. She is based in Kansas City, Mo.
​
Ebony cowrote Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap with coauthor Louise Story. It is available for purchase.
Fifteen Cents on the Dollar: How Americans Made the Black-White Wealth Gap is a sweeping, deeply researched narrative history of Black wealth and the economic discrimination embedded in America’s financial system through public and private actions that created today’s Black-white wealth gap.
​
Learn more about the book at 15cents.info. Keep pace with more updates at land.substack.com
Current Project
Terez A. Paylor Scholarship
​
Terez A. Paylor was known and loved by many as a talented sports journalist. He was my longtime partner, and passed away in 2021 at the age of 37. He covered high school, college and professional sports for The Kansas City Star before joining Yahoo!Sports in 2018. Terez also hosted a weekly radio program on 610 Sports Radio, "The Terez Paylor Show" and was a regular contributor to the KC Chiefs coverage at 41 Action News in Kansas City. He was a member of the distinguished Pro Football Hall of Fame and was the youngest selector at his death. Terez courageously advocated for NFL players of diverse backgrounds, with compelling arguments for some to be considered and ultimately selected for the honor.
Since his death, I have been fundraising for scholarships in Terez’s name. Two scholarships honor Terez’s legacy - the Terez A. Paylor scholarship at Howard University, which is an endowment at Terez’s alma mater. The other is the PowerMizzou Journalism Alumni Scholarship in memory of Terez Paylor, which is also an endowment at my alma mater, the Missouri School of Journalism.
​
Donation Information
How to donate to the PowerMizzou Journalism Alumni Scholarship in Memory of Terez Paylor at the Missouri School of Journalism: Click here.
How to donate to the Terez A. Paylor scholarship at Howard University:
Online credit card gifts can be made here
Under “Designation,” click on “Other” and write in “Terez A. Paylor Scholarship.”