"Knowledge is the lightest load you can ever carry and it is one thing that can never be taken away from you." That philosophy is an integral part of me. I believe that access to an excellent education is one of the greatest gifts we can  provide a child. My love for children and the desire for betterment of educational opportunities in Pike County Schools and Alabama has enabled me to be a strong advocate for public education.

Steed, who has been a member of the Pike County School Board since 1984, has served numerous times as president and vice-president of her local board. She is dedicated to improving her knowledge and skills as a board member. In fact, she has earned the distinction Master School Board Member from AASB's School Board Member Academy by completing the levels of training that comprise the Academy and continuing to earn the required number of credits annually.

Steed served as a member of AASB Board of Directors for five years, representing school boards from southeast Alabama. She served eight years, two terms each, as first and second vice presidents, president and past president of  the Alabama Association of School Boards which represents all of the state's local school boards.

Steed  received Alabama Association of School Board's highest honor in December 1997, when she was named an All-State School Board  Member. In addition, she has served on numerous AASB committees, including the Executive/Legislative, Bylaws, Resolutions, Nominating, Budget, and Convention Planning committees. She also has served as a member of the Board of Directors for AASB's Legal Assistance Fund, which monitors and sometimes participates in education-related court cases with the potential to affect school boards statewide.

Steed served six years as a member of the Board of Trustees for the Alabama Risk Management for Schools, a non-profit program that provides general liability, errors & omissions and automobile coverage for member school boards. She served as president of the Alabama Association of Governmental Organizations,  which monitored the governance of an AASB service that gave local school boards access to revenue when they faced short-term deficits.

On the national level, Steed has lobbied Congress on behalf of Alabama school boards through NSBA's Federal Relations Network. She has served on the NSBA Nominating and Resolutions committees. She has served as one of Alabama's delegates to the NSBA annual Delegate Assembly six times. Also, she has served as a member of the NSBA/Southern Region Nominating and Resolutions committees and as a delegate to the NSBA/Southern Region annual Delegate Assembly.

In 2002, Steed was selected by the American Association of School Administrators to be part of a group of education leaders from around the nation  who visited Singapore, Hong Kong and Saigon to study their educational systems.

An active member of her community, Steed is a cast member of the community play "Come Home, It's Suppertime!" which is performed at the We Piddle Around Theater in Brundidge.

Steed is owner/operator of Happy Hair Salon in Brundidge. She and her husband, Gary,  have three children and four grandchildren.