As a state official or as an adviser in the private sector, Gailanne Reeh sensed how dry language in a bill or a meeting could ripple out of a room and affect children and families dealing with mental health crises.

“Gailanne was always on the cutting edge of raising every issue and getting it addressed and figuring out what the solutions were,’’ said Joan Mikula, assistant commissioner for child and adolescent services at the Massachusetts Department of Mental Health. “Her impact was profound. She was truly a champion around children’s issues across the board, but specifically in my world of children’s mental health.’’

Through years of surmounting administrative hurdles, Mrs. Reeh brought to her work an energy that was something to behold, even after she became ill.

“She was just literally a fountain and sometimes not a gently flowing fountain,’’ said Susan Getman, chief executive of the Walker School. “She was explosive. Her eyes would shine. Her whole countenance would vibrate with the intensity of her conviction. It was riveting; it was compelling. She would get so excited by ideas and just light up a room with them.’’

Mrs. Reeh, who formerly was commissioner of the state Office for Children and senior vice president of United Way of Massachusetts Bay, died April 10 in Kaplan Family Hospice House in Danvers of complications of breast cancer. She was 62 and lived in Nahant.

In 1982, she founded Arbor Associates, a Boston-based agency that provides staffing services for behavioral health, human services, and child-care fields.

On occasion over the past 30 years, she stepped away from leading her company to focus on state positions. Even when running her company, she simultaneously filled roles on boards in the private and public sectors devoted to helping children and families.