Women To Watch 10.12.25 - Flipbook - Page 18
25 WOMEN TO WATCH
BangTam Miller
58, president, 755 Alliance
At the age of 8, BangTam Miller and her then-family of eight survived
off rations given to them by other families on board a ship fleeing Vietnam
during the fall of Saigon in 1975. Ever since, it has been her mission to give
back through her organization, the 755 Alliance.
“My parents’ guidance to me was that you have to remember those who
helped you and when you are able, you have to help others,” Miller said. “If it
weren’t for the kindness of the people on those ships, we would have starved.
I haven’t forgotten that, so I give back.”
The 755 Alliance is a nonprofit organization that focuses on promoting
business development and revitalizing Harford County’s most underserved
community, Edgewood.
Through the alliance — named after State Highway 755, which is locally
known as Edgewood Road — Miller and her fellow alumni from Edgewood
High School facilitate numerous community efforts, including restoration
projects and neighborhood cleanup events.
“The vision for the Alliance has always been to revitalize the neighborhoods with businesses thriving, recreation for the kids, and families taking
pride in their homes and neighborhoods,” Miller said. “I want to see street
lamps with banners and nice neighborhoods because when I see all of those
things materialize, I will truly retire.”
— Matt Hubbard
Lindsay Willey
46, wine director, Charleston
Lindsay Willey has had quite the year — but her story in Baltimore’s culinary scene began 18 years ago, when she began working for chefs Cindy
Wolf and Tony Foreman at their then-co-owned restaurant Cinghiale. While
completing her Master of Fine Arts degree, Willey was promoted to an assistant sommelier position and quickly began falling in love with the wine world.
“I had no idea what goes into making wine ... all the variables, things that
can happen and decisions that have to be made. And I continue to find that
to be super fascinating,” Willey said. “It’s an agricultural product, but there’s
also an art, and a finesse, and a sort of magic behind it.”
Today, Willey serves as the wine director for Wolf’s fine dining restaurant,
Charleston. In June, she joined Wolf onstage to accept the restaurant’s first
James Beard Foundation Award in the Outstanding Wine and Other Beverages Program category.
Almost two decades later, Willey said her enthusiasm for the industry, and
for wines of all levels of prestige, is as strong as ever.
“I have an advantage of starting from a clean slate. ... It’s not like I grew up
drinking Dom Pérignon at Christmas,” she said. “I’m happy to taste a wine
that’s $5 — I’m happy to taste anything.”
— Jane Godiner
18 | 2025 | WOMEN TO WATCH
LLOYD FOX/STAFF PHOTOS
