Jim Reed is an independent Maya researcher with over 35 years of involvement in Maya studies. He is currently editor of the monthly IMS Explorer newsletter of the Institute of Maya Studies and past president of the Institute (2000). Over the years, he has lived outside of the US, for 1-1/2 years in Belize and 5-1/2 years in Guatemala and now-a-days continues to lead organized tour groups to the Mayalands.

With a successful career as a production manager of graphic design with RR Donnelley, one of the top five printers in the world, Reed’s passion is sharing all his accumulated love and admiration for the Maya to others by way of visual arts, writing, music and ceremony.

Reed is also a director on the board of The Maya Conservancy — a new non-profit organization in support of preserving and protecting Maya cultural traditions for future generations. The Maya Conservancy’s purpose is to aid in the preservation and protection of Maya and Pre-Maya archaeological sites throughout Mesoamerica. The Maya Conservancy provides educational guidance and financial assistance to private and governmental bodies in these countries to aid in the preservation and protection of historically and culturally important sites.

Reed’s enthusiasm and dedication made him one of the primary coordinators for Mission Izapa 2010 on behalf of The Maya Conservancy. Scheduled during the week of this summer solstice, the journey, nick-named “Maya Spiritual Elders Return to the Birthplace of Time”, was an unprecedented opportunity to help the modern Maya interpret their ancestral past. We facilitated the way for 13 Guatemalan Maya spiritual elders to participate in sacred fire ceremonies at four sites in Guatemala and at the site of Izapa, located right inside Mexico. Izapa was the largest site of the Izapan culture at the time and in the area where researchers believe what later became the Maya’s sacred 260-day calendar and their 365-day solar calendar were originally initiated. Ritual fire ceremony had not been performed at Izapa for over 800 years. The major of Tapachula was so moved he sponsored a press conference and invited us as "distinguished visitors". Now Reed is coordinating the Mission Momos–Copán 2010 Maya spiritual/archaeological journey.

Reed is a very good friend of 2012 book author John Major Jenkins, and the poem, “One Hunahpu” that appears as the frontispiece of Maya Cosmogenisis 2012 is dedicated to Reed. He also did one of the illustrations in Jenkin’s new book, The 2012 Story. Reed has always felt “connected” to the “powers that be” ever since he first learned that the legendary K'ukulkan/Quetzalcoatl was born on the day One Reed, in the year One Reed! Reed is 7 N'oj (7 Caban) — a mover and a shaker, a transformer of knowledge and experience into wisdom. He shares a simple, easy-to-understand, yet colorful interpretation of the 2012 phenomena that focuses on Maya Creation Centers, the Popol Vuh and the site of Izapa. He has a new program based on the work of Brian Stross of UT Austin:

"Maya Creation Centers and the Sacrum Bone: Connecting the Human Body to the Nighttime Skies".

When it comes to Maya Studies, Reed is at the center of his wheel, his tapestry that weaves together the connections he maintains with many of the archaeologists working in the field, the scholars and researchers reporting their findings, the independent visionaries and enthusiasts, and the modern Maya spiritual guides. With over 35 years of independent studies, he sees his purpose as uniting the accomplishments of the ancient Maya into a more profound vision of the future for the modern Maya.