Born in Mason City, Iowa, Phillip Dunlap is the Director of Broward County’s Cultural Division, a local arts agency with that manages the county’s investment in the arts through grant making, public art initiatives, and arts education.
Prior to his appointment to this position in April of 2019, reserved for 12-years as Director of Education and Community Engagement for the non-profit organization, Jazz St. Louis.
An advocate for the Arts, Phillip served as President of the board of Missouri Citizens for the Arts (MCA), Missouri’s primary arts advocacy organization. In his position with MCA, he directed state-level advocacy initiatives in collaboration with the board and the organization’s lobbyist. During his time as MCA President, the organization successfully lobbied to extend the sunset of the Non-Resident Athlete and Entertainers Tax, which funds the Arts on the state level in Missouri. In February of 2018 he was recognized by the Missouri House of Representatives in HR Resolution 5542 for his service to the Arts in Missouri.
Also having a passion for teaching, Phillip served as adjunct professor at the University of Missouri St. Louis, Webster University, and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville where he taught Jazz History and Music Business. In 2016, he created a course for the Entrepreneurship program at the University of Missouri St. Louis called Business in the Arts, which examined business concepts as they appear in the non-profit arts and culture industry.
In 2011 he was named “30 under 30” by the St. Louis Business Journal and is a 2014 graduate of the Community Arts Education Leadership Institute through the National Guild for Community Arts Education. He has served as a cultural envoy for the US Department of State and has taught and performed in Afghanistan, Guyana, and Thailand. He currently serves on the board of Jazz Education Abroad, an international jazz education NGO.
He holds Bachelor of Music degrees in jazz performance (piano) and music theory/composition and a Master of Music in jazz performance from Southern Illinois University Edwardsville.