Citizen of the Week: Tami Morris makes Walk for Peace happen here

Tami Morris has spent much of her life helping people communicate — through words, images, and, more recently, through action. That skill set was on full display during the recent Walk for Peace, when she worked behind the scenes to help coordinate a stop in Peachtree City that brought thousands of people together.

Morris, who lives in Peachtree City, has a professional background in public relations and corporate communications, with a career that has included nonprofit work, publishing, teaching, and consulting.

“My background is in public relations and corporate communications,” Morris said. “I worked with a lot of nonprofits.”

After moving to Peachtree City, Morris launched The Peachtree Pathfinder, creating cart path maps and publishing a book designed to help residents navigate the city’s extensive path system. She later ran a small publishing business, producing educational and early-reading books, particularly for middle-school students who struggled with reading.

Her academic career followed a less traditional path. While visiting colleges with her son, Morris learned that Georgia State University had launched a new Ph.D. program and decided to enroll.

“I started graduate school, and that was super interesting,” she said. “Usually when Ph.D. students teach, they only teach one or two classes, but I think I taught like 12 different classes.”

Morris earned her Ph.D. in public communication from Georgia State University and taught at multiple institutions, including Georgia College & State University and the University of West Georgia, as well as earlier teaching positions in California. Her research focused on visual communication, including how people communicate under repressive regimes.

“All of my research was on visual communication,” she said. “That was one of the ways that they were able to communicate to the outside world.”

After roughly a decade of teaching, Morris shifted her focus back to nonprofit work — an interest she said began early.

“I was on my first nonprofit board when I was 16,” she said. “That’s where my love of nonprofits has come from.”

Over the years, Morris has held leadership roles across Fayette County, including serving as chair of the Southern Conservation Trust during the opening of The Ridge and chairing the Fayette County Hospital Authority during major expansions at Piedmont Fayette. She also organized volunteers to assist families displaced by Hurricane Katrina who relocated to Fayette County and has served in a variety of civic and volunteer roles.

Today, Morris describes herself as semi-retired. She recently launched grantink, a grant research, writing, and review firm, and continues to consult with nonprofit organizations.

“I love writing grants, and I love working with nonprofits,” she said. “They make such an impact in the community.”

That background proved useful during the Walk for Peace. Morris said she first learned about the walk through Facebook and reached out to organizers when she noticed the route might pass near her neighborhood.

“I saw it on Facebook, and I called the coordinator,” she said.

Although the monks were originally scheduled to arrive in the area later, their progress accelerated, leaving local organizers with little notice.

“We got like one day’s notice that they were coming our way,” Morris said. “So it was a scramble, and everybody just did such a fabulous job.”

Georgia organizers ultimately routed the walk through Peachtree City because Morris was willing to help facilitate a stop on short notice. She served as a liaison between the Georgia coordinator and local contacts, helping coordinate logistics and identify appropriate locations, including Trilith LIVE, which ultimately became a gathering point for several thousand people.

“My intent when working with them was to help facilitate,” she said. “Peachtree City and the cart path system is such a wonderful amenity for us. It just seemed like a natural.”

Her interest in the Walk for Peace was also personal. Morris said a visit to Nepal several years ago, while her sister was serving in the Peace Corps, left a lasting impression.

“We stopped in Lumbini, which is the birthplace of the Buddha,” she said. “In the mornings, they get up and they chant as the sun arises. I was able to go to the rooftop of the hotel where we were staying and hear all of these Buddhists chanting to greet the day.”

Morris, who is also a yoga instructor, said the practices of mindfulness and intention resonate deeply with her.

“Their practice is the message,” she said. “The idea of meditation and mindfulness and doing good in the world — it’s all intertwined.”

She added, “The reason that they do the meditation and they do things so thoughtfully is because it creates intention, and it’s usually very positive and very powerful.”

That philosophy — intentional, steady, and largely behind the scenes — has shaped Morris’s work across education, nonprofits, and community efforts. For helping make Peachtree City a meaningful stop on the Walk for Peace, and for decades of quiet civic leadership, Tami Morris is The Citizen of the Week.

Do you know a Citizen like Tami? We’d love for you to nominate them for a future Citizen of the Week.

Anyone in Fayette or Coweta County can nominate a local resident to be featured. Submissions must include between 100 and 500 words explaining why your nominee deserves the spotlight and a photo of them. (Submissions without a photo cannot be accepted.) Fill out the nomination form here:

👉 https://thecitizen.com/nominate-a-citizen-of-the-week/

Each week, one honoree is celebrated in The Citizen, giving us all a chance to recognize the people who enrich our community with their character and care.

The Citizen of the Week is proudly sponsored by City of Hope® Cancer Center Atlanta, a national leader in cancer research and treatment. With expertise across all cancer types and a commitment to whole-person care, City of Hope honors those who strengthen our communities through service, compassion, and resilience.

Learn more at https://cityofhope.org/atlanta.