Margaret S. Marston Lampe was born in Arizona in 1941, but has been a long-time resident of Arlington, Virginia. While active in numerous civic and community organizations, she has been most involved with educational issues on the state and national level. Her activities in the area of education have included: chair of the Virginia Congress of Parents and Teachers; chair of the National Institute of Education Task Force on Educational Laboratories; and co-chair of the Governmental Affairs Committee of the National Association of State Boards of Education.

Ms. Lampe was selected as a member of the National Commission on Excellence in Education when it was established on August 6, 1981, by U.S. Secretary of Education Terrel H. Bell. The purpose of the Commission was to "spearhead a major campaign to encourage all of America's schools, colleges, and universities to enhance excellence in education. The Secretary directed the Commission to "examine the quality of education in the United States and to make a report to the nation and to him within 18 months of its first meeting." The Commission's first meeting was October 9-10, 1981. Its final report, A Nation at Risk: The Imperative for Education Reform, was issued on April 26, 1983. A "Nation at Risk" Third Anniversary Conference was held on April 25-26, 1986.

In 1986, Ms. Lampe was appointed by Virginia Governor Gerald L. Baliles to Governor's Commission on Excellence in Education. The Commission was charged with considering and recommending actions that would "place Virginia's public elementary and secondary schools into the first rank in education in the nation." The Commission had its impetus from recommendations from the 1984 Governor's Commission on Virginia's Future. The Commission issued its final report in October 1986.

From 1979 to 1987, Ms. Lampe served on the Virginia Board of Education. While serving on the board, she was especially concerned with the issues of textbook censorship and sex education in the schools. In 1988, she was named to the Board of Visitors of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University.