Melody Phillips is Appointed Deputy Director of Wilmington’s Department of Parks and Recreation
August 9, 2022
Mayor Purzycki and Parks and Recreation Director Ian Smith welcome Melody to the City’s management team
Wilmington Mayor Mike Purzycki today announced that Melody Phillips, the former Director of Operations at the Teen Warehouse [teenwarehouse.org] in Wilmington and a former Program Manager at Delaware Technical and Community College, has been appointed Deputy Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation. Phillips will assist Parks and Recreation Director Ian Smith with managing one of the City’s most important departments as far as providing extensive community-based programs and services to individuals, children, and families. Phillips will begin her new duties on Monday, August 1.
Phillips has more than 15 years of experience in program management with an emphasis on building and enhancing community and social justice initiatives. Through her previous work experience and managing her own consulting firm, Phillips has provided counsel to executive leadership on needed local, state, and federal reforms connected to youth systems, juvenile justice, adolescent health, and education.
Melody Phillips
“Melody’s extensive consulting and management career has focused largely on the needs of young people and the systems in place that are either a benefit or a detriment to their growth and well-being.,” said Mayor Purzycki. “Ian and I feel very fortunate to be able to welcome Melody to our City management team. There are many people in Wilmington, especially our younger residents and the adults who manage programs for them, who know Melody and know of her management abilities and her care and concern for our youth.”
Phillips obtained a Master of Arts in Forensic Psychology in 2010 from the Chicago School of Professional Psychology and is currently pursuing a Ph.D. in Organizational Leadership at the Chicago School of Professional Psychology. Her dissertation focus on co-developed youth and adult leadership models in community centers. She anticipates achieving her Ph.D. next year.
In addition to Phillips’ previous work at the Teen Warehouse – a popular meeting and programming space in Northeast Wilmington designed for teens by teens – and her work at Del-Tech, she was also a Program Manager at Washington, DC-based Generation USA, a nonprofit organization that provides free job training, placement, and support to help people find life-changing careers.