Joy E. Phillips joined the Office of Planning as the Associate Director of the State Data Center in February 2005. She holds a BA in economics from the University of the West Indies, Trinidad, a Masters of Science and PhD in economics from Howard University, and a diploma in landscape design.

Prior to joining the DC Office of Planning, she worked with the DC Department of Health as a statistician for 10 years and a Geographic Information System (GIS) coordinator for three years. She was also an Assistant Professor in Economics at Morgan State University in Baltimore, MD.