State Rep. Tonya Myers Phillips is serving her first term representing the 7th House District, which includes central Detroit, northeast Detroit and the cities of Hamtramck and Highland Park.
Phillips is an attorney and community leader who has dedicated her life to eliminating the systemic barriers that disproportionately impact the poor and working class. Born and raised in the city of Detroit, Phillips returned to her community after receiving her bachelor’s and law degrees from the University of Michigan. She has worked with community members and organizations advocating for government accountability, protecting constitutional rights and civil liberties, workers’ rights, and expanding economic rights and the social safety net for poor and working class people.
Equipped with over 20 years of community advocacy and legal experience, Phillips is committed to fostering relationships between grassroots leaders and the Legislature. She understands the relationship between grassroots advocacy and policymaking. Phillips prioritizes policies that strengthen the social safety net, foster equitable economic development, create and protect affordable housing, advance environmental justice, and increase access to justice so that all Michiganders, regardless of income, can access the legal system to advocate for themselves.
Phillips began her career working for the Sugar Law Center for Economic and Social Justice, where she tackled environmental injustices, strengthened the investigatory and enforcement provisions of the Detroit Living Wage Ordinance and advocated for community benefits agreements.
In her own private practice, Phillips has passionately represented indigent criminal defendants. She is a fierce advocate for widespread criminal justice reform and changing laws that disproportionately criminalize the poor. She was instrumental in designing an anti-human trafficking program in partnership with survivors, charitable organizations, law enforcement and court partners.
Her work as a housing attorney with Michigan Legal Services helped hundreds of seniors, disabled and vulnerable persons save their homes from foreclosure and eviction. Phillips is also a co-founder of the Detroit Right to Counsel Coalition, where she successfully led the advocacy to obtain Michigan’s first Right to Counsel law, which provides a right to free legal representation for low-income and working-class families facing eviction.
Phillips joined Wayne State University Law School as an Adjunct Professor in 2022 and also served on Detroit’s Charter Revision Commission from 2010-12. She has been honored with several prestigious awards, including the Distinguished Young Lawyer Award from the Wolverine Bar Year and the City of Detroit Spirit of Detroit Award.