A Trajectory in News, Politics, Business and Philanthropy
"I decided to lock Concordia into my estate plan pretty young—I realize I am about 20 years early," Tammy jokes. "But truly, now is the time to do it. There is nothing easier than placing Concordia in your will. If you decide to change it later you can. But once you've decided and gone ahead with it, it feels great to know you are part of supporting the mission of the college and the next generation of leaders."
Growing up in Kensington, Minnesota, Tammy Lee '93 knew at a young age that living in a small town wasn't for her. As a fourth grader, she watched Jane Pauley anchor The Today Show on NBC with stars in her eyes and a dream to cover the news. Years later, when her role model Katie Couric entered the NBC news set, she chose Concordia College to help her make her dreams come true.
"I was the first in my family to go to college, so my options were open. It wasn't like it is today; we didn't fly across the country on a tour of campuses. Recruiters came to my high school and I visited colleges that were a fairly easy drive away. When I came to Concordia, it felt right—a good size, a good vibe and, most importantly, good journalism and political science programs."
While on campus, Tammy poured herself into preparing for a career in television news. She had a work study job at the TV Center and served as the anchor for Concordia On Air, the student-produced television show, under the supervision of Dean Olson. Her focus on journalism defined her experience at Concordia and led to her first internship at KVLY-TV while still an undergraduate student.
"Charley Johnson was the news director at KVLY and a faculty member at Concordia. While I was interning there, he saw something in me that led him to recommend me for a summer internship with NBC News Channel in Charlotte, North Carolina. To go from a high school graduating class of 34 kids to being a news producer in Charlotte at age 21 was incredible."
The timing couldn't have been better. Tammy's plan was to graduate in three and a half years: A practical goal considering she was working hard to pay her way through college, and, with three siblings, her parents were only able to help so much. After her summer internship wrapped up and Tammy graduated from Concordia with degrees in journalism and political science, she was offered a full-time producer position in Charlotte. From there, her journalism career took off, landing jobs as a field producer in Minneapolis, Washington, D.C., and even Bosnia. It was a brief gig with Fox News in which Tammy transitioned from covering the news to helping make the news.
"I was assigned to interview North Dakota Senator Byron Dorgan and was able to connect with him on a more personal level because of where I'm from—my family ties to North Dakota and my education at Concordia. Ultimately, he asked me to serve as his press secretary. It was a wonderful opportunity."
Tammy's career in politics also included working on a gubernatorial campaign in Minnesota and her own bid for Congress. Both of those endeavors led to consulting work including Sun Country Airlines, who wisely hired her in-house where she was quickly promoted to VP of Corporate Affairs and Marketing.
"I was working for Sun Country when 9/11 happened. At first, we thought it was one of our planes that hit the towers because it was the same takeoff time. It was obviously a devastating time for our country and for the airline industry. We were grounded for weeks and, considering the company was financially fragile before the attacks, we were forced into a Chapter 11 bankruptcy restructuring and sold to new owners. I was then hired at US Airways in corporate affairs and worked as a federal lobbyist during their Chapter 11 financial restructuring in Washington, D.C."
These experiences, along with the positive feedback Tammy received from her campaign for Congress, caught the attention of the CEO of Northwest Airlines. Soon enough, Tammy was in the C-suite of that organization and worked as part of the leadership team that sold to Delta. When asked about her strong business trajectory, Tammy is humble, indicating her life has been serendipitous, and credits her liberal arts education for having so many diverse and rewarding opportunities come her way.
"I started as a broadcast journalist, shifted into politics, have been a corporate officer for global airline and travel companies and am now the CEO of a biotech company. How does that happen? It is because of the liberal arts underpinning at Concordia. The critical thinking and communication skills I developed have helped me to advance and transform throughout my career…to be nimble and assess situations holistically. You might not realize when you are a student but the value of this type of education becomes very clear later."
Her strong feelings about Concordia's mission and liberal arts foundation are translating to action. Upon the passing of her mentor and friend Dean Olson, Tammy reached out to the college to inquire about setting up a scholarship in his honor. Since accomplishing this goal, she has also enjoyed being involved as a mentor and speaker. Currently, she is serving on the Board of Regents and is the Chair of the Advancement Committee. Her role as the VP of Transformation Giving at the University of Minnesota Foundation gives her reason to applaud the success of President Craft and VP of Advancement Teresa Harland in Concordia's record-breaking $150 million RISE campaign. Her understanding of fundraising is beautifully matched by her own desire to give back.
"I decided to lock Concordia into my estate plan pretty young—I realize I am about 20 years early," Tammy jokes. "But truly, now is the time to do it. There is nothing easier than placing Concordia in your will. If you decide to change it later you can. But once you've decided and gone ahead with it, it feels great to know you are part of supporting the mission of the college and the next generation of leaders."
Tammy is hoping her daughter, Lissa, might be one of those Cobber leaders. She is using Concordia's exceptional placement rates and student-faculty relationships to put the hard sell on her daughter and says her student recruitment and conversion rates among her friends and their college-bound kids is 100 percent.
Thank you, Tammy, for being a wonderful advocate, donor and leader for Concordia College!
Make a lasting impact by making a planned gift through your estate. There are many ways to make a lasting impact by making a planned gift through your estate. Contact Trina Hall at 218.299.3445 or [email protected] today, to learn more.