2020 Conference
Life Lessons From My Dad

Dr. Phillips Meertins is Assistant Professor of Communications at California State University, Fullerton, where she teaches public relations courses such as persuasive communications and digital foundations. Notably, her father encouraged her to study abroad in Brazil during high school (despite not knowing the language), igniting her passion for global citizenry. Since then, she has studied in Germany, Mexico and South Korea, was a Fulbright Scholar (international education administrators program) to Germany, and as a professional has visited China, Japan, Qatar, Brazil, Italy, Austria, Turkey, Iceland, Germany, Sweden, and Denmark.

In 2001, Dr. Phillips Meertins served as program assistant with Progressive Life Center’s Project Heshema, where she facilitated a rites-of-passage program for Wilson High School students in Washington DC. A highlight of that experience was traveling with the students to Livingstone, Zambia to visit their program counterparts.

Dr. Phillips Meertins earned a BA in political science from Yale University, an MA in international affairs from The George Washington University, and a PhD in communication from the University of Miami. Her research includes developing a culturally competent public health campaign to raise awareness of HIV among youth in the Mayan town of Santiago, Guatemala.

In December 2018, Dr. Phillips Meertins was interviewed on the Las Vegas-based Leadership Looks Like podcast, where she discussed challenges growing up in Washington, DC, travel, and communication. She lives in Southern California with her husband and three-year-old son.