Draft:Adam Nicholas Phillips
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Last edited by Isaidnoway (talk | contribs) 10 days ago. (Update) |
Adam Nicholas Phillips | |
|---|---|
| Born | January 1, 1979 Dayton, Ohio, U.S. |
| Education | The Ohio State University North Park Theological Seminary (M.Div., 2006) |
| Occupation(s) | Civic leader, pastor, strategist, non-profit executive |
| Known for | CEO of Interfaith America, founder of Christ Church: Portland |
Adam Nicholas Phillips (born 1979) is an American civic leader, pastor, political strategist, former diplomat, and non-profit executive director. He is the first CEO of Interfaith America, a national organization dedicated to interfaith cooperation and pluralism in civic life.
Biography
[edit]Phillips was born outside Dayton, Ohio, in 1979. He spent much of his childhood in California, attending Rancho Bernardo High School, before returning to Ohio and graduating from Hudson High School. He earned his undergraduate degree from The Ohio State University, where he sang in the Ohio State University Men's Glee Club and the Statesmen. He received a Master of Divinity from North Park Theological Seminary in 2006 and was ordained by the Evangelical Covenant Church in 2008.
Career
[edit]Phillips began his career leading advocacy initiatives at organizations focused on anti-hunger and global development, including Bread for the World and The ONE Campaign. He worked across multiple faith communities to raise awareness and support for U.S. foreign aid programs, including PEPFAR and Feed the Future. He later served as a delegate to the Third Lausanne Congress on World Evangelization in Cape Town, South Africa, in 2010 and helped launch World Vision's Covenant Kids Congo project in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
In 2014, Phillips founded Christ Church: Portland, one of the first inclusive evangelical congregations in Oregon. The church was originally planted with support from the Evangelical Covenant Church, but Phillips and his congregation were dismissed from the denomination after expressing public support for marriage equality. The church became a prominent gathering space for LGBTQ Christians and others seeking inclusive spiritual community. Phillips spoke on this experience in a TEDx Mt. Hood talk titled "Inclusion: The Ancient Idea That Just Might Save Us" and was featured in an award-winning documentary short by filmmakers Zach Putnam and David MacKay, which was screened at The Atlantic Film Festival.
During the 2020 U.S. presidential election, Phillips led faith outreach for the Mike Bloomberg campaign before launching Faith 2020 (later Faith Forward), a 501(c)(4) organization aimed at mobilizing faith-based voters in support of Joe Biden and Kamala Harris through digital campaigns in multiple languages.
In 2021, Phillips was appointed by President Joe Biden to lead faith-based and intergovernmental strategy at the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) under Administrator Samantha Power. His portfolio included overseeing USAID’s first-ever Strategic Religious Engagement policy for international development and humanitarian assistance, as well as efforts to increase localization and support for new and nontraditional partners. Phillips praised the long bipartisan history of USAID's mission, while publicly voicing concerns over dismantling efforts under the second Trump administration, particularly in relation to persecuted religious and ethnic minority groups in Iraq.
In September 2023, Phillips joined Interfaith America and in March 2025 was named its first-ever CEO.
Personal life
[edit]Phillips lives in the United States and remains active in national conversations around religious pluralism, inclusion, and U.S. global development strategy. He continues to write, speak, and lead at the intersection of civic life, religion, and justice.
Selected works and media
[edit]- TEDxMtHood – *"Inclusion: The Ancient Idea That Just Might Save Us"*
- Subject of *The Atlantic*–featured documentary short by Zach Putnam and David MacKay (2016)