Deborah Ross Reaves

Clinical psychologist Deborah Ross Reaves was born on March 5, 1948 in Cleveland, Ohio to Katie Price and John Ross. She received her A.B. degree in sociology from Ohio University in Athens in 1970, her M.A. degree in sociology from Cleveland State University in 1976, and her Ph.D. degree in counseling and clinical psychology from Kent State University in Ohio in 1981.

From 1970 to 1971, Reaves worked as an assistant city planner for the Northeast Ohio Areawide Coordinating Agency (NOACA). In 1974, she joined the Cuyahoga County Common Pleas Court in Cleveland as referee, serving for four years and holding the positions of court liaison and probation officer before serving as a counselor at the Comprehensive Psychiatric and Comprehensive Learning Institute in 1976. Then, Reaves worked as a counselor for the Cuyahoga Valley Community Mental Health Center from 1978 to 1980 and that same year, was hired by the Tufts New England Medical Clinic as a clinical psychologist. She joined Tufts University in 1981 as a clinical instructor for the School of Medicine and as a lecturer for the department of psychology where she worked until 2003. During this time, Reaves also served as a psychologist for Newton Public Schools in 1984 and opened her own private practice in psychology in 1994. From 2004 to 2006, she worked as a psychologist for the Skokie School District in Illinois. Reaves then joined the Cooperative Association of Special Education (C.A.S.E.) Marquardt District 15 in Glendale Heights, Illinois, as a psychologist for one year before retiring in 2007.

Reaves has been active in the community including in leadership positions with The Links, Inc. in 1984, where she served for thirty years and held the positions of committee chair, treasurer, secretary, vice president, and president. She also served on the Reynolda Museum of American Art’s Board of Trustees, the Women’s Council of Novant Health at the Forsyth Medical Center Foundation, the YWCA of Winston-Salem Forsyth County’s Board of Trustees, the Winston-Salem Symphony Association’s Board of Trustees, the American Psychological Association, and the Council on Aging in Sharon, Massachusetts.

Reaves and her husband, Donald Julian Reaves, have two children. They reside in Edgartown, Massachusetts and Lakewood Ranch, Florida.

Deborah Ross Reaves was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on July 30, 2024.