VICKI PHILLIPS CHAMPIONS ACCESS TO EDUCATION
Vicki Phillips has charted the course for the future of education. Now as the Chief Education Officer and Vice President of National Geographic, she has developed a plan to modernize the organization’s efforts in expanding children’s access to education. In a recent interview, she declared that the scope of her efforts are inspired by how “Young people, and the educators who reach them, are key to addressing the planet’s most pressing problems.”
Her plan to equitably distribute science and geography resources is three-pronged. First, she has created an initiative to share learning materials with more than 100 million students over the course of the next 10 years. Additionally, she aims to introduce “game-changing content and tools -- social studies, science, geography content delivered any time on any device.” This content will include augmented reality, virtual reality, and geographic information systems, which she finds are practically “ubiquitous in other industries” but regrettably absent from the classroom. The final component of the plan is to expand the field of geography to begin the problem-solving process for some of the planet’s biggest problems.
She remains grateful for this responsibility, celebrating the chance to “help kids and teachers rediscover that wonder of the world, and the lessons all around us and share that across the globe.” And after learning more about her multifaceted career as a student, teacher, policymaker, public servant, and administrator, it’s clear how she’s been able to empower so many students with an expanded access to education.
Who Is Vicki Phillips?
Born in Falls of Rough, Kentucky, Phillips was an inquisitive, curious child. While she managed chores around her small family farm, she also developed a drive for academic achievement at an early age.
While she continued to engage in her family and community activities, she also began to think about different parts of the world and life outside of Breckinridge County. One practice that helped mold this curiosity was reading. “Reading took me everywhere,” she said. “It showed me opportunities that I might never have imagined in my small community in Falls of Rough, Kentucky.”
Ironically, Vicki Phillips was never supposed to go to college. Even though she’d excelled in her studies, she saw her future following in the family business and picking up work on the farm in Breckinridge County.
Her upbringing had taught her that college was accessible to some and threatening to others. When she was a junior in high school, she was challenged unexpectedly by one of her peers to rethink what she was capable of pursuing.
Born in an affluent area of the county with a clear path to higher education, Phillips’ classmate was stunned to learn of her plans not to go to college. Her grades were excellent, she could confidently lead classroom discussions and she demonstrated an advanced ability to collaborate with others, yet she didn’t see herself in a university setting. Inspired by her friend’s faith in her ability to succeed, Phillips made the uneasy decision to pursue a college education.
But there was an added pressure not to go to school that stemmed from her family’s misunderstanding of what college meant. Growing up on the family farm, the prospect of going away for school was viewed almost as a betrayal of her roots and family. Even though she’d made up her mind, she received a warning from her family: “If you do [decide to go to college], your values are not our values and you shouldn’t come back.”
Still, the choice became clear for her as she neared graduation. At her friend’s insistence, Phillips decided to examine the different program offerings at Western Kentucky University. Before deciding to pursue a degree in education there, she would graduate from high school near the top of her class.
Transforming into a Leader in Education
Importantly, her family would not remain upset as she moved to Bowling Green to begin her student career at WKU. Soon after she began classes, she decided to pursue further studies in education. Graduating with an undergraduate degree in Elementary Education, she began teaching in Simpson County, Kentucky.
As a new teacher, Phillips began to see how fortunate some are for their education. She considered herself lucky for having gone to college, and for her, luck shouldn’t have been a factor at all. “Kids shouldn’t get that opportunity by luck,” she said. “They should get it by design.” In other words, Phillips believes that students shouldn’t need to rely on luck or chance when gaining access to higher education.
After returning to WKU to get her Master’s in School Psychology, she used her experience and advanced training as an educator to take on several public service roles in state government. As a Special Assistant to the Deputy Director of the Kentucky Bureau of Instruction, she helped draft and carry out the Kentucky Education Reform Act of 1990. In this capacity, she acted from a policy standpoint to expand the reach of educational opportunities across the Commonwealth.
Phillips used this experience to launch her career as a leader in education. Moving out of Kentucky to support other communities in other states, she served as the Superintendent of Schools in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, the Secretary of Education for the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, and the Superintendent of the Portland, Oregon Public School System. In the early 2000s, she received a Doctorate of Education from the University of Lincoln in the United Kingdom.
After completing her time in those roles, she moved into the nonprofit sector serving as director of education strategy and grant making for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation for eight years. In 2010, she was awarded an honorary Doctorate in Public Service from WKU.
Promoting Education Everywhere
Currently, Phillips acts as the Vice President and Chief Education Officer for the National Geographic Society.
In 2019, Kentucky to the World hosted Phillips and Matthew Barzun, the former U.S. Ambassador to the United Kingdom and current publisher for Louisville Magazine, to have a conversation about the state of education in Kentucky.
In preparation for the program, Atherton High School students in the Media Arts Academy program were given the opportunity to work with Kentucky to the World’s Creative Director and Project Manager, Tommy Johns and Morgan Whittinghill. Through their direction, the students were able to compile interview footage of guests that would add to their portfolio.
KTW Creative Director Tommy Johns with Atherton High School Students
This experience would open new opportunities for the Media Arts students from Atherton. In the Summer of 2019, National Geographic held a photography workshop in partnership with Jefferson County Public Schools, where prestigious photojournalists with experience around the globe held real-world and advanced information sessions with students. A testament to Phillips’ outside-the-box instruction, she viewed this event as a way for students to learn practical, contemporary skills.
Phillips speaking to a group of students at National Geographic’s photography camp in 2019
Join us in celebrating Women’s History Month by tuning into our Republic Bank Foundation Speaker Series Program The War on Terror to the War on Truth: Pulitzer-Winning Journalist Dana Canedy.
