Phyllis D. K. Hildreth, serves as Vice President for Institutional Strategy and Academics, at American Baptist College and leads the “Called to Lives of Meaning and Purpose” (CLMPI) Initiative funded by the Lilly Endowment Inc. Hildreth also serves as Chief of Staff for the Office of the President.
Ms. Hildreth serves on several community and government boards, including the Metro Nashville Community Oversight Board and the Nashville Centennial Conservancy. She also served for two terms on the Nashville Human Relations Commission. In addition, the community-minded professional also serves as the College’s liaison to the Nashville Historically Black Colleges/Universities (HBCU) Consortium.
Ms. Hildreth serves as associate professor at Lipscomb University, College of Leadership and Public Service. Other prior experience includes roles as Chief Counsel for Administration, Maryland State Office of the Public Defender; Deputy Secretary, Maryland Department of Juvenile Justice; and first Managing Director, Baltimore Juvenile Justice Center. She also served as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Baltimore School of Law.
As a life-long learner, she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in biology from Harvard University, , her Juris Doctorate degree from the University of Maryland, and her Master of Arts in Conflict Management from Lipscomb University in Nashville.
Ms. Hildreth oversees the five-year, $1.5 million implementation grant from Lilly Endowment Inc., enabling ABC to create an Innovation Hub engaging two cohorts of diverse congregations from across the Southeast. The cohort-driven, narrative learning-based model takes a three-pronged approach, focusing on (1) leadership; (2) systems design thinking, and (3) mission-driven community engagement.
American Baptist College continues to be a global source of training for leaders who aspire to have an impact. The result will be increased vitality within diverse congregations, the development of new models for ministry, and an extension of congregational outreach, with the leadership of Ms. Hildreth in her current roles.
For more information, contact Dr. Phyllis Qualls, Assistant Vice President for Strategy and Institutional Advancement at pqualls@abcnash.edu or 615.687.6921.