New London ― In the space of just three days earlier this month, resident Debbie Phillips’ Facebook page was filled with posts about a local Christmas party, a youth justice seminar, a flag football game and a cheese and cider get-together at the public library.

That social media boosterism is just one way the 65-year-old longtime city resident works to highlight the positive news coming out of her beloved New London.

“I want the community of New London, the residents, to participate in improving the city,” she said. “If there are problems, we need to all get together and try and enhance and improve what we have here.”

Phillips worked for years in the finance department of the former Naval Underwater Systems Center. While there, she made her first foray into the world of nonprofit work, starting with the Women’s Center of Southeastern Connecticut, which later became the Safe Futures domestic violence counseling agency.

“As a victim of domestic violence, that group’s mission was near and dear to my heart, and I began working as a crisis intervention councilor and later transitioned to a paid position,” Phillips said. “We all wore a lot of hats and I’m doing more since I retired than I did while working.”

Phillips post-retirement resume includes volunteering with more than a dozen local organizations, from the Public Library of New London and the local NAACP branch to neighborhood associations and food pantries.

In between that work – and the time she spends with her grandchildren – she also finds time to take part in a local drum circle during the warmer months. That musical participation placed her in the right position when the city looked to honor local celebrity Dwight “The Professor” Baldwin, a Black resident who spent much of his life performing and teaching.

When City Councilor Akil Peck was working to honor Baldwin with a marker on the city’s Black Heritage Trail this year, he immediately reached out to Phillips to help him connect with Baldwin’s family.

“She was instrumental in that,” Peck said. “She’s a caring, thoughtful person who thinks of others before herself. She’s especially concerned with the city’s youth and informing residents of what’s happening. And she does that without ever seeking the spotlight.

In addition to her volunteer work with the New London Community Meal Center, the Health Education Center and other groups, Phillips carved out time during the COVID-19 pandemic to help decorate and deliver more than 100 Christmas wreaths to local nonprofit shelters, as well as attend opioid overdose prevention vigils.

“My passion is for causes that celebrate Black, African and Caribbean causes – the three things I am,” said Phillips, a longtime member of the Shiloh Baptist Church. “I’m a firm believer that one voice can matter, that my voice matters. If I want to see a change, I need to participate and become passionate.”

Phillips said she’s especially proud of the time she spent speaking with local high school and college students for Black and Women’s History month forums, many organized by Kevin Booker Jr., a professor at Mitchell College.

“Debbie is inspirational, motivational and an encourager,” Booker said. “It’s unusual to find someone like Debbie, a person who is invested in and gives fully to her community. She wants the best for every single person.”

j.penney@theday.com