Genevieve Reynolds grew up with three siblings on a tobacco farm on Scaffold Cane Road in Rockcastle County, Kentucky, near where she presently lives. After attending Eastern Kentucky University, she was hired by Berea College as a secretary. In 1970, when President Willis Weatherford of Berea College established the Appalachian Center, he staffed it with Genevieve Reynolds and Loyal Jones, the first Director. Presently, Genevieve serves as Senior Office Manager of the Appalachian Center as well as Circulation Manager for Appalachian Heritage.

Genevieve was married for 43 years to Lawrence Reynolds, a high school classmate and retired lab technician, until his death in 2006. Their children are Heather, who also works for Berea College, and Billy, an attorney in Rockcastle County.