A Founding Partner of Tanner Friedman, Don Tanner offers more than 40 years of strategic communications counsel and experience in virtually all industry sectors, including automotive, professional services, technology, nonprofits, health care and real estate.

The work of Tanner and his teams has garnered numerous national and international awards, including on behalf of clients in the information technology, automotive and animal conservation sectors. He has also served as Executive Director of the Woodward Dream Cruise, the world’s largest one-day automotive event, where the Tanner Friedman team was honored with an international MarCom award.

A former major market print and broadcast journalist, Tanner’s background includes on-air, programming, production and public affairs posts—locally including as a reporter over Detroit radio stations WWJ-AM, WXYT-AM and others. He also previously served as a writer/editor/research director for the national radio industry weekly trade publication, Monday Morning Replay.

Tanner is the author of “No Static at All-A behind the scenes journey through radio and pop music.” He is also a frequent lecturer on journalism, media and public relations, including at Wayne State University; the University of Michigan-Dearborn; Michigan State University; Oakland University; Eastern University; and Central Michigan University. His perspectives on branding, marketing and pop culture have appeared in local and national media outlets from coast to coast.

Tanner acted as 2016 Detroit Chapter president for the Public Relations Society of American (PRSA); has served as a Board Chair on the Eight Mile Boulevard Association; and as a PR committee member for the Detroit Zoological Society. A graduate of the Detroit Regional Chamber’s Leadership Detroit Class XXVI, he is a Past Chair of the Chamber’s Ambassador Program and was previously named Ambassador of the Year. Tanner holds a B.A. in Speech Communications and Business Administration from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.

In 2022, Tanner was inducted into the PRSA-Detroit Hall of Fame.