CHRIS ANN
PHILLIPS

Chris Phillips brings national advocacy to our region through her extensive work with our veterans and their families.    In the Pittsburgh region she stands out as a true champion and unshakable advocate for our nations’ heroes through her extensive work in her day job and with organizations dedicated to making a difference in the veteran community.  As a Marine Corps veteran herself, she brings skills, duty and a true love of country to everything she does.  She is a strong advocate for the medical service dog industry, a huge supporter of the use of horses for therapy and believes these highly trained animals are a solution to end the suffering of our veterans nationwide.

 

Her work for our veterans and the Pittsburgh Community doesn’t stop there.  Chris joined Pittsburgh Warrior Hockey’s Board of Directors in July 2018 as the Director of Development and has been driving board and organizational development since she arrived.  She is a force that has earned the respect of the players, stakeholders and funders to further the mission of Warrior Hockey and has already contributed to raising double the previous years’ operating budget.  She works diligently to ensure combat wounded veterans from our region have the camaraderie and sport of hockey to create a culture of healing and success, both on and off the ice.  With over 80 players on the roster and the organization continuing to grow, Chris continues to develop the Board of Directors, enhance organizational awareness and create meaningful opportunities for our region’s veterans.

 

She is national recognized by the US Chamber of Commerce for her work with the veteran community and is a two-time finalist for the Col. Endres Individual Excellence in Veteran Employment Award.  She is the recipient of the 2013 Secretary of Defense Patriot Award and continues to be sought out for her candid and real-life approach to the issues facing our veterans.  She conducts workshops for hundreds of veterans through GI Jobs, LinkedIn and other veteran and disability focused organizations.  She has mentored veterans and military spouses alike.  She was voted the 2023 Pittsburgh Veteran of the Year, the most prestigious award given to a veteran in our region.

 

This year, she will complete her doctorate studies in Rhetoric and Communication at Duquesne University where she is has been an Adjunct faculty member for the past three years.  She teaches Business and Professional Communication to undergrads and has prepared over 150 students for the challenges and opportunities they will face as they enter into the workforce.

 

She is the mother of two beautiful daughters and ‘Chucka’ to her amazing granddaughters.