Outstanding Alumni Award

Nancy and Dan Garrison might be the quintessential Moody College couple – using their creative and innovative skills to articulate and invent something new.

Nancy and Dan founded Garrison Brothers Distillery in 2006, and since then 15 vintages of Garrison Brothers Texas Bourbon Whiskey have been released and six brands introduced. Bottles have become collectors’ items.

Prior to this endeavor, Nancy worked in the retail industry, and Dan worked as a software marketing professional.

Nancy is a speech communication graduate, while Dan earned a degree in advertising. They are both actively involved in philanthropy.

Together, Nancy and Dan are founding members of the Trail Foundation.

In July 2020, Krissah Thompson was named the Washington Post’s managing editor for diversity and inclusion. She is the first Black woman to become a managing editor in the newspaper’s 144-year history.

Thompson has spent her entire professional career at the Washington Post, where she started in 2001 as a summer reporting intern. She has served as a reporter for the financial, national politics and style desks. And Thompson covered first lady Michelle Obama during President Barack Obama’s second term.

In 2014, she was also the newspaper’s acting bureau chief in Ferguson, Missouri, directing coverage of the protests, violence and public outcry following teenager Michael Brown’s death in a police shooting. Prior to taking on her current role as managing editor, Thompson was the assignment editor for the Post’s style section.

She now fills a new managerial role and will be involved not only in coverage and hiring but also shaping newsroom culture. Her portfolio has just expanded to include the oversight of the Post's features section and its climate and environment team.

Thompson graduated from The University of Texas, where she majored in journalism and Plan II honors.