Our Leadership
Key Staff
Piper Phillips Caswell, MS, President & CEO, piper.phillips@phillipsprograms.org
Trixie Herbert, Chief Operating Officer, trixie.herbert@phillipsprograms.org
Chip Maust, Ed.D., Program Director, PHILLIPS Career Partners, Chip.Maust@phillipsprograms.org
Marbeth Ingle Levy, MS, SHRM-SCP, Chief People Officer, marbeth.ingle@phillipsprograms.org
Rose Ann M. Renteria, Ph.D., Director of Research and Evaluation, roseann.renteria@phillipsprograms.org
Renee Flowers, Program Director, PHILLIPS School ~ Laurel, renee.flowers@phillipsprograms.org
Courtney Gaskins, M.Ed, Ph.D., Program Director, PHILLIPS School ~ Fairfax, Courtney.Gaskins@phillipsprograms.org
Stacie Thompson, M.Ed., Program Director, PHILLIPS School ~ Annandale, Stacie.Thompson@phillipsprograms.org
Board of Trustees
Dan Irvine, Chairperson
3 Summit Investment Management, LLC
Stephen Masten, Vice-Chairperson
Allegiance Advisory Group
Scott Heimberg, Secretary
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld, LLP
Elena P. James, Treasurer
Former Parent
Mary Akinkugbe
Managing Director, Ernst & Young
Joseph Burke
Grant Thornton
Dwayne Cherry
Microsoft
Mark Fowler, MD
Fowler Healthcare Consultants
Francis Kargbo
Northrop Grumman Corp
Carol Weld King
Morris, Manning & Martin, LLP
Erik Linn
CrossCountry Consulting
Melissa Panagides-Busch
Management Advisory Services, BDO
Chely Pryor
Anne Slonim Rafal, Ph.D., LCSW
Anne Rafal Associates
Honorary Trustees
Diane & Leland Brendsel
The Honorable Tom Davis
Former Congressman
James W. Dyke, Jr.
McGuireWoods, LLP
Martha & John Schwieters
Paul Tagliabue
Former Commissioner, National Football League
Our History
50+ Years of Responding to the Special Needs of Children & Families
2023 — Family Partners closes
2022 — PHILLIPS Programs founds SpringForward, a nonprofit that creates career opportunities for young adults facing barriers to employment.
2017 — PHILLIPS Programs celebrates 50 years of providing services to youth with behavioral health needs
2016 — PHILLIPS Programs launches Career Partners
2016 — PHILLIPS Programs opens PHILLIPS School ~ Fairfax
2014 — PHILLIPS Family Partners receives national recognition from the Center for the Study of Social Policy for promoting Youth Thrive framework
2014 — PHILLIPS Teaching Homes program closes after more than 30 years of providing therapeutic foster care in Northern Virginia
2010 — PHILLIPS Programs wins The Washington Post Award for Excellence in Nonprofit Management
2001 — PHILLIPS Teaching Homes program becomes licensed in Maryland
2001 — PHILLIPS School ~ Laurel honored as U.S. Department of Education “Blue Ribbon” secondary school
1998 — Board adopts PHILLIPS Programs for Children and Families as new organization name
1998 — PHILLIPS School ~ Laurel builds new addition to serve additional students
1994 — PHILLIPS School ~ Laurel opens; School for Contemporary Education’s (SCE) Baltimore unit closes
1994 — Founder, president and chairman Dr. E. Lakin Phillips dies following brief illness; Diane Brendsel takes on role of chairperson
1993 — SCE launches community/home-based family preservation program (later renamed PHILLIPS Family Partners)
1993 — PHILLIPS School ~ Annandale honored by U.S. Department of Education as “Blue Ribbon” secondary school
1989 — PHILLIPS School ~ Annandale opens, with First Lady Barbara Bush and U.S. Senator John Warner attending dedication ceremony
1979 — SCE receives start of federal funding for Community Teaching Homes (later renamed PHILLIPS Teaching Homes)
1977 — At request of the State of Israel, SCE sends two staff members to Israel for one year to establish autism program
1975 — SCE receives 3-year federal outreach grant to support product development, training and consultation activities
1975 — Congress passes the Education for All Handicapped Children Act, reflecting SCE input on regulations
1972 — SCE receives 3-year grant to develop model pre-school program in church near Tysons Corner, Virginia
1972 — Program expands to serve approximately 150 students
1967 — Psychologist E. Lakin Phillips, along with family and friends, founds the School for Contemporary Education (SCE)