Rasheedah Phillips is currently serving as Managing Attorney for Housing Policy in the Housing Unit of Community Legal Services. Ms. Phillips is an expert in subsidized housing law and has successfully advocated for changes in housing policy affecting the entire City of Philadelphia and beyond.
Ms. Phillips first came to CLS as a legal intern in the Family Advocacy Unit. As an intern, she assisted in creating a community education workshop that educated teenage parents and their advocates on their legal rights in the areas of custody, child support, education, public benefits and other rights. She conducted the workshops for various teen parenting programs and advocacy organizations throughout the city. In 2008 she became a Pennsylvania Legal Aid Network Martin Luther King, Jr. Fellow in the Community Economic Development Unit, providing legal advice, representation, and resources to low-income child care businesses and non-profit, community organizations. After joining the CLS Housing Unit, Ms. Phillips took on a leadership role as Managing Attorney, after which she joined the Shriver Center on Poverty Law as Senior Advocate Resources and Training Attorney. In 2020 she returned to CLS as Managing Attorney for Housing Policy.
Ms. Phillips has been active in leading various advocacy campaigns that have resulted in legislative changes, including laws that made it easier for family child-care providers to obtain zoning. She spearheaded the Philly Eviction Prevention Project pilot program created in 2017.
It is only when people feel they have a stake in a future that is non deterministic, not associated with economic gain, and rooted in community, can possibilities for hope, creative control, and meaningful access spring forward.