Zeke Reed is a Topanga Canyon native and a 2017 graduate from the University of Virginia with a dual degree in Political and Social Thought and Cognitive Science. Before coming to CCLP as a TA and Researcher, Zeke was a Coro Fellow in Public Affairs which placed him in government, nonprofit, labor, business, news, philanthropic and campaign environments across Los Angeles. His placements included the LA City Attorney’s Office, the Writer’s Guild of America West, ABC 7 and the California Community Foundation.
When not at USC, Zeke is working on music under the name Friends of and with his band FNTN. He performs live around LA at venues like The Mint, The Peppermint Club, The Satellite and The Moroccan Lounge. Zeke also works with middle school students as a private tutor, and with high school students as a volunteer musician at the South LA nonprofit A Place Called Home.
Zeke’s intellectual passions revolve around understanding the political, social, cultural and biological underpinnings of human thriving. He enjoys exploring these questions through the lens of journalism, and helping undergraduate students unlock their own academic passions. In the future, Zeke hopes to pursue a PhD in human development to draw further connections between the biological and social sciences, and inspire future generations of undergraduates as a professor.