Rashida Phillips

Rashida Phillips currently serves as the newly appointed deputy director of the Old Town School of Folk Music, the first role of its kind for the 60+ year institution. A native of St. Louis, MO, Phillips has contributed widely to arts and culture organizations like the Chicago Humanities Festival, Chicago Arts Partnerships in Education, the Merit School of Music, Chicago Children's Museum, and the Jazz Museum in Harlem. She holds a bachelor's degree from Oberlin College, and a master's degree in Jazz Studies from Rutgers University. Phillips has also pursued an extensive career as a jazz vocalist, familiar to local audiences through dozens of performances at Chicago venues over more than a decade.

Chicago's Old Town School of Folk Music is the largest community school of the arts in the U.S., and a non-profit organization committed to celebrating American music and global cultures. Founded in 1957, the Old Town School of Folk Music provides a wide range of music, dance, theater, and visual arts courses to people of all ages, abilities, and backgrounds. Whatever one's interest, the Old Town School provides broad access to more than 700 accredited weekly class offerings, private lessons, and over 400 concerts and community events per year.