Charlie Garrison was born and raised on a central Indiana dairy and row crop farm. He received a Bachelor's Degree in Animal Science from Purdue University and then was a partner in the family farm for ten years. During that time he was elected Vice-President of the Indiana Holstein Association and was selected as a participant in the Indiana Agriculture Leadership Program.

Charlie then accepted a staff position in Chicago with the Beef Industry Council, the checkoff-funded promotion and research arm of the beef industry that is now part of the National Cattlemen's Beef Association. While in Chicago he attended the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University.

Next, Charlie moved to Washington, D.C. to create the position of Director of Industry Relations for the National Dairy Promotion and Research Board. He remained in that role during and after the merger of the National Dairy Board staff and programs into Dairy Management Incorporated (DMI).

Now in its third decade, The Garrison Group is a Washington, D.C.-based public affairs firm specializing in food, agriculture and energy policy and communications. Clients have included businesses and organizations involved in dairy production, processing, marketing and exporting as well as meat processing, financial services and clean energy.