Mayor Veronica Edwards Phillips

About Mayor Veronica Edwards Phillips

Mayor Veronica Edwards Phillips has been a resident of Lauderdale Lakes for 23 years. She is married to James Edward Phillips, who has resided in the City for 34 years. They have four adult sons, Wendell Cedric, Erwin Dale, Kelvin Lynn and Stephen Randall, three granddaughters, Jan Marie, Alycia Lynn and Ceylon Ruth Ann, four grandsons, Ethan Kent, Kelvin Matthew, Aziz Wendell, Marcel Jeremiah, Christopher Dollison and one great granddaughter, Aarya Sanaa.

Mayor Phillips is a graduate of the University of Miami (Bachelor of Arts and Master of Business Administration) and Florida State University (Master of Social Work). Her professional career as a Social Work Educator and School Social Worker spanned for 36 years. Her professional experiences included Clinical Social Worker, Social Work Coordinator, Social Work Special Administrator, and a Faculty Field Instructor for Florida International University, School of Social Work, and North Miami, Florida, School Social Worker and a Migrant Advocate for migrant children and their families in the Broward County School System, Title I Program. 

To enhance her professional development, she has been a member of the School Social Work Association of America, National Association of Social Workers, and the School Board of Broward County School Social Work Association. The culmination and continued commitment to improving the quality of life socially, emotionally and physically for families and students was in 2010 when she retired from the School Board of Broward County. 

Mayor Veronica worships at the Historic First Baptist Church Piney Grove, the oldest African American Baptist Church in Fort Lauderdale, 114 years old. She has served in many leadership mission service ministries and is currently a Deaconess and a member of the Adult Usher Ministry. As a component of First Baptist establishing a medical clinic in a small village in Haiti, Veronica commits to a monthly monetary donation to support the Clinic with medical supplies, medical equipment and payment of staff salaries.

Veronica has served the City in many capacities. She is the former President of the School Advisory Board, a member of the Economic Development Advisory Board, past Chairman of the Budget Advisory Committee, a graduate of the Lauderdale Lakes Local Government Academy which provided training, insight and interactive sessions with City Staff, BSO and the Fire Department and served as a panelist during the City’s Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration. She is the Membership Chairman of the East Gate Homeowners’ Association.

Veronica has served as the President of the Kiwanis Club of Central Broward, whose motto is “serving the world, one child at a time.” The children of Park Lakes Elementary School are served by the yearly presentation of dictionaries to all third graders and thesauruses to all fourth graders impacting the academic success of over 200 students. At Park Lakes Elementary School, she monitored the “Back to School Safe Walk”, where students and parents were educated on safety rules and the “do’s and don’ts of walking and/ or riding to school. She also served as one of the Career Day Speakers, encouraging and motivating students to rise to their highest potential and to never give up on the pursuit of their goals.

By donating to the Kiwanis International Neo Natal Tetanus initiative, Veronica has helped in curbing deaths of babies in third world countries by 90%. 

Mayor Phillips is a charter member and Past President of the Chi Psi Omega Chapter, Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Incorporated. She has provided service to all mankind for 44 years through the Sorority’s targets and initiatives that include improvement in reading skills, women involved in global concerns, economic development, developing partnerships, families, youth, political action and the environment. She has been recognized and honored as the “Soror of the Year” and a Lifetime Achiever for her continuous service to the community and has received awards on the Regional and Cluster levels of the Sorority.

Veronica currently serves as a Board member of the Broward County Community Action Agency representing the low income sector of the County. She is a charter member of Sisters Investing Seriously Investment Club which seeks to enhance the financial stability of its members but is also dedicated to shared knowledge of sound financial decisions and investing.

Recognizing that service to the community is active participation across the broad spectrum of social, medical and political events, Veronica participates in Relay for Life, Sickle Cell Disease Walk, Walk for a Cure for Alzheimer with the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI). As an important component of her service, Veronica’s time as well as her resources are committed to service projects, community, family, social and all needs of children and families. Whomever she serves, she aspires them to achieve their highest potential. 

God, family and community guide Mayor Phillips in her resolve to “form a more perfect union” for a growing, developing and prosperous City and country. 

Contact Mayor Phillips by email with questions and comments.