Tami Scully Garrison
Community affairs manager
MillerCoors LLC
Milwaukee
Industry: Brewing
millercoors.com
Employees: 1,300 in Milwaukee; 7,900 total
Credit: Lila Aryan Photography
“Our chief public affairs and communications officer (five years ago, Nehl Horton) was talking to us about our company and our corporate reputation and he used a quote that has stuck with me. It’s an Abraham Lincoln quote:
“‘Character is like a tree and reputation like a shadow. The shadow is what we think of it; the tree is the real thing.’
“What’s our culture like, but more importantly, what’s our character? It helped guide me in terms of my work in what I was doing and how we were doing. And then I realized I could take that and apply it to my personal life, which is where I think it’s probably helped me the most. For me, I thought about, ‘Who am I? What am I rooted in through my personal beliefs?’ and try to use that as my guiding principles day-to-day, versus ‘What are other people going to think of my choice?’
“The only way you can really control that shadow is by controlling that tree, making sure that it’s got really strong roots.”
Age: 43
Professional experience: Garrison attended Tulane University and completed the Future Milwaukee Leadership Program at Marquette University. She worked at Hyatt Hotels Corp. for 11 years, advancing to director of catering and convention services for Hyatt Regency Milwaukee, before joining Miller Brewing Co. as guest services manager in 2005. Garrison also served as employee social investment manager at Miller Brewing until the company was absorbed into the MillerCoors joint venture in 2008. Since then, she has led MillerCoors’ community affairs, which entails guiding its philanthropic strategy and community investments and partnerships.
In the news: In May, Garrison was appointed board chair of TEMPO Milwaukee, a women’s leadership organization in which she has been involved since 2010. She will serve a two-year term. Garrison also sits on the boards of the American Red Cross in Southeastern Wisconsin and the Zoological Society of Milwaukee.
