“We must remember that service is the rent we pay for living.” (Antonia Novello) A personal commitment to serve seems to have been born in Inez and grew stronger and deeper through the years.
She was born and reared in Jersey City, NJ. Her parents, Edith and Henry Phillips had come from their home land of Saint Christopher/Nevis, West Indies. The newlyweds envisioned great opportunities for the family they
would start. Inez was the youngest of six children born to Edith and Henry and she grew up with the confidence borne of having been reared in a home where love, support and encouragement were the basics.
Inez attended the Jersey City Public Schools and graduated from Lincoln High School. She was the first African American in Jersey City to be awarded the block letter ‘L’ in the sport of fencing and the first African American in Jersey City to be awarded The American Legion Certificate of Distinguished Achievement in recognition of “Honor, Courage, Scholarship, Leadership, Service, Companionship and Character”.
As an undergraduate at Douglass College, where she was the single African American in her class, Inez wanted to gain equal resources for African American Women and says Douglass College encouraged her to look for and expect equal resources for all women. She developed an easily commitment to bring about change and was drawn to social work partly because of challenges of racism. Inez earned a BA degree with a major in Psychology from Douglass College, and encouraged by John, her husband, continued on to earn a Master of Social Work degree from Rutgers Graduate School of Social Work in 1961. Shortly after John’s death Inez continued on and earned a Doctor of Psychology degree at the Rutgers Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology.
Concerned about the training psychologist received in meeting the needs of the underserved minorities, Inez and three of colleagues coauthored the publication, “Role of an Ethnic Minority Alumni Committee in Training Professional Psychologists”, Professional Psychology: Research and Practice, 1990, Vol.21, No 6. 000-000. Post graduate work in education and administration was done at New York University.
Inez has remained an active alumna of Douglass College. Since graduation she served as class president for many years as well as served as a member of the Associate Alumnae Board of Directors of Douglass College. She supported the establishment of the Black Alumnae Network. Inez is the recipient of the Alumnae Recognition Award and has been inducted into The Douglass Society. Inez currently serves on the Board of Trustees of Plainfield Public Library as treasurer, as a member of the finance committee and as chair of the nominating committee. She is also the Campaign Manager for a Plainfield Municipal Government candidate.