She was born in Gorman, Maryland in 1927 and has resided in the State of Maryland for 91 years. She is a graduate of Georgia's Beauty School, owned and operated a local salon, The Vogue, for 40-years.

She worked to establish the first community business association and was active on the Garrett County Promotion Council, pre-existing the local Chamber of Commerce, as well as the Private Industry Council and the Tri-County Council.

Phyllis's vision and commitment to achieving outcomes is demonstrated at the outset with the goal to improve the status of women and working at the state and national levels to assert fair and equal rights for women; most notably, historically, on organizing efforts to ratify the equal rights amendment and various subcommittee work with the National Committee on Pay Equity. She served as the Chair of the Maryland Commission for Women (1990-95), was a Board Member of the National Association of Commissions for Women and Maryland State Coordinator for the Interagency Council, UN Women's Conference, One Year Later. Phyllis actively coordinated her activities with the Maryland Legislative Agenda for Women. Phyllis is a founder of the Garrett County Commission for Women, the Garrett County Women's Hall of Fame, as well as having served as President of the Maryland Federation of Business and Professional Women and of the local BPW-GC.

Phyllis was elected National Chair, The Young Careerists, which promotes young leaders to be involved in networking in their communities; all about mentors promoting prot�g�s. Of Progress and Promise, Title IX, Phyllis worked with inter-organizational women's groups to ensure women in sports were provided the educational resources deserved, partnering with USDE and on the local level supported efforts that girls' sports teams were adequately resourced and funded.

Phyllis organized funding for and is a founder of Garrett County's first domestic violence shelter, the DOVE Center. She served as a 1988 Maryland Delegate to the Democratic National Convention. She is a member of St. Paul's United Methodist Church and was active in missions for Burlington United Methodist Youth Services, shelter programs for children who need loving homes. Phyllis has earned numerous awards and honors; BPW Woman of the Year, PTA Service Awards, American Heart Association Merit Award, multiple Governors' citations for distinguished leadership, and honorable mention in Women of Achievement in Maryland History.

These accomplishments are magnified when considered in the context of a small rural jurisdiction like Garrett County. As Maryland's smallest county by population, one of its poorest and most mountainous, these accomplishments are enormous and are a testament to all that makes Phyllis such an extraordinary woman.

Biography courtesy of the Maryland Commission for Women, 2019.