Phillips attended a National Science Foundation summer school for African-American students, which inspired her to study chemistry.

[3] While Phillips originally intended to study medicine, she was discouraged by her advisor who believed she would not be able to have a family and attend medical school.

[5] She worked on the R17 virus, using circular dichroism and electron paramagnetic resonance to understand the conformation of the viral protein.

[2] Whilst researching the R17 virus, Phillips read about the work of Patrick Oriel at Dow Chemical Company, and decided to apply.

[2] At Dow Chemical Company Phillips helped students from Michigan State University to analyse the antibiotics in animal feed.

[2] She began to consult the biotechnology company Millipore Corp., travelling the world to talk about the work of the Waters Corporation.

[11] At both the Dow Chemical Company and Waters Corporation, Phillips moved from research development to business management.

[7] She was involved with the American Chemical Society Project SEED, an initiative which allows high school students from disadvantaged backgrounds to complete summer placements in research laboratories.

[16] In the fall of 2019, Philips was re-elected to serve a third term in 2020 on the board of directors for the American Chemical Society.

Her brother, Robert C. Wingfield, serves as director of the Fisk Community Environmental Toxics Awareness and Sustainability Program.