Reggie was born and raised in Pocatello, ID, studied at Idaho State University, Columbia University, and earned a PhD in environmental chemistry from the University of California, Davis. She has spent her career studying a broad range of environmental issues, including smog formation, pesticide exposure, drinking and wastewater treatment, and the effects of climate change on oceans and coral reefs. For the past 25 years she has worked in a Montana-owned small business, developing scientific instruments used by oceanographers around the world, and low-cost instruments for STEM education and citizen science.

Reggie and her husband spent two years as Peace Corps volunteers, and have raised three children from diverse backgrounds, helping her to understand the needs and challenges that different people face. She has volunteered with Girl Scouts, leading a robotics team to the Montana state championship, and with PTA, 4H, Missoula Children’s Theater and high school sports and music programs.