Phillip Sheldon

Phillip is a curious leader who seeks to bring different people and topics into communication with one another. Currently, Phillip is a Program Director at MDC, working with the Economic Security and Mobility team. Throughout his time at MDC, he has worked across multiple teams and issue areas, providing support to our Southern Partners through facilitation, strategic planning, leadership and organizational development, and conflict mediation.

Before joining the Economic Security and Mobility team full-time in 2026, Phillip worked with the Rural Prosperity and Investment team for nearly seven years. In this capacity, he supported place-based capacity-building work in Western North Carolina and spent approximately 4 years providing support to organizations and leaders in and around Halifax County, North Carolina.

In his role with the Economic Security and Mobility team, Phillip directs the team’s work on coalition development and tax equity. Previously, he facilitated the NC Tax coalition, a network of partners working to make the state’s tax code work better for everyday North Carolinians.

Prior to joining MDC, Phillip worked on housing policy in and around Greensboro, NC. Phillip graduated from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with dual bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies and Sociology and History. Phillip attained his master’s in Public Affairs from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2019. It is his goal to bring these many different disciplines into his work with communities across the US South. Currently, he lives in Greensboro, NC, with his wife and daughter.