President and Chief Executive Officer
Tara Scarlett serves as president and chief executive officer of the Scarlett Family Foundation, which works to ensure all Middle Tennessee students have access to a high-quality education. Tara has been an active advocate for education reform for over a decade and served as a Foundation board member since it started in 2005. She has an extensive private sector track record of innovative leadership and a proven ability to bring people together to achieve results. She pairs this experience with a passion for creating better opportunities for students of all ages and backgrounds.
Most recently, her dedication to transform education in Middle Tennessee led her to serve on the Nashville Literacy Collaborative. Additionally, Tara is a member of the SCORE Steering Committee, Tennessee Learning Circle, a board member on Tennesseans for Quality Education, the Nashville Zoo and Studio Bank, and is a big sister with Big Brothers/Big Sisters Program. She previously served as a board member and Academic Committee chair for LEAD Public Schools and was a founding board member and secretary for Project Renaissance.
Prior to joining the Scarlett Family Foundation as president and CEO in 2016, Tara spent 20 years in marketing leadership roles for two of the largest consumer packaged goods companies worldwide, The Coca-Cola Company North America and Mars Petcare North America. Tara attended Scales Elementary, is a graduate of Harpeth Hall School, and holds a bachelor’s degree from Ohio Wesleyan University. She lives with her husband, two children, and two dogs in West Nashville.
