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Reba Lou Keele (b. 1941) was born on April 28 1941 in in Emery, Utah to Frederick Manning and Pearl Valentine Peterson Keele. Reba Keele received her Associates degree from the College of Eastern Utah in 1961. She received her B.A. Degree in Speech and Drama in 1963 and her M.A. Degree in Rhetoric and Public Address in 1966 from Brigham Young University. She went on to receive her Ph.D. in Rhetoric and Public Address and Educational Psychology in 1974 from Purdue University. A member of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints, Keele served a mission to France in 1965. In 1968, Keele married T. Lee Burnham.

Between 1984 and 1985, Keele served as Director for the Center for Women's Health at the Cottonwood Hospital Medical Center. Keele also had a long career as an educator. Beginning in 1967, she taught Organizational Behavior at Brigham Young University. In 1991, she became the Dean of Undergraduate Education at the University of Utah, a position that she held until 1996. Keele also taught Management at the University of Utah. In 2003, Keele became a Professor of Public and Community Health at Utah Valley University, An advocate for literacy, Keele served as writer and presenter for the television program Helping Your Child to Read in 1974. Keele has published articles, books, and research on topics regarding women, gender, and leadership. Among her work, she is best known for the 1977 book Let's Talk: Adults and Children Sharing Feelings.