The Amber E. Phillips Trust
The Amber E. Phillips Trust is dedicated to honoring and continuing the legacy of generosity, advocacy and social consciousness that Amber cultivated and manifested in her lifetime. The AEP Trust is devoted to caring for those most in need, in her hometown of Charlevoix and beyond, by staying connected to and understanding the needs of the local community and offering assistance in meaningful places where the greatest future impact can be felt.
In its first philanthropic initiative in 2021, The Amber E. Phillips Trust created a charitable fund within the Charlevoix County Community Foundation. Just weeks later, we were thrilled to announce that, with the generosity of our donors, we were able to award our first-ever grants to two incredibly deserving organizations. Since then we have awarded five additional grants and counting!
We are honored to announce our latest award to World Central Kitchen in Rafah, Gaza: There is a critical humanitarian crisis facing families across the territory. Relentless shelling and a ground offensive have killed tens of thousands of civilians and forced more than a million Palestinians from their homes. In response to the recent escalation of violence in the Middle East, World Central Kitchen (WCK) is providing crucial aid to affected communities. Partnering with local organizations in Gaza and working on the ground in Egypt and Lebanon, WCK is committed to offering support to Palestinians and anyone else in need during this challenging time. The current conflict has exacerbated an already dire humanitarian crisis caused by a years-long blockade. People are struggling to access water, food, and the means to cook for their families. Despite restrictions on humanitarian aid entering the territory, WCK teams have been able to establish a Field Kitchen in Rafah, create a network of community kitchens across Gaza, and send hundreds of aid trucks to communities in desperate need of food.
Please take a moment to explore this amazing organization delivering life saving sustenance to the innocent victims
in Gaza and around the world.
Come along with us on social media, and please consider donating if you can!
Mercy. Justice. In Perpetuum.
2023 award recipients:
The Innocence Project: Founded in 1992 by visionary attorneys Peter Neufeld and Barry Scheck, the Innocence Project has been at the forefront of criminal justice reform, using DNA and other scientific advancements to prove wrongful conviction. Since their inception, the Innocence Project has helped to free or exonerate hundreds of wrongfully convicted people, pass transformative state laws and federal reforms, and advance the innocence movement.
2022 award recipients:
Reproductive Health Services of Planned Parenthood of the St. Louis Region (RHS): RHS operates a women's health center in Southern Illinois. Since the Dobbs decision, RHS has seen a 30% increase in patients, and a 370% increase in patients coming from out of state (Tennessee, Arkansas, Indiana, Mississippi). Within the first year of the Dobbs decision, RHS anticipates an additional 14,000 women per year will travel from across the Midwest & South to receive reproductive healthcare in Southern Illinois. To meet patient demand, RHS announced Planned Parenthood’s first mobile unit for women's reproductive healthcare which will travel throughout Southern Illinois to decrease driving distance for patients coming from Midwest & Southern states that have banned or restricted these services. RHS also launched a Regional Logistics Center to provide financial assistance, arrange travel, coordinate services, food and child care for patients traveling to their center for women's reproductive health care.
Otsego Community Foundation: Supporting our neighbors in Gaylord Michigan who suffered a devastating and fatal EF3 tornado on Friday, May 20, 2022.
Allout.org War in Ukraine Initiative: Supporting LGBTQ+ organizations on the ground in Ukraine, Romania, Slovakia, Moldova, and Poland that are coordinating evacuations and safe places for queer refugees from Ukraine.
2021 award recipients:
The Manna Food Project: Feeding the hungry throughout the north.
The North Muskegon Public Schools Library Endowment: Creating mirrors and windows into children's lives by sourcing books from authors of diverse backgrounds and historically overlooked communities.
Amber Phillips was born in Dearborn Michigan on August 20, 1975, and grew up in the charming village of Charlevoix where she lived until graduating from high school. She also lived briefly in Holland, and Grand Haven Michigan as a child. Amber moved to Los Angeles in 1995 where she studied and worked as an actor for over a decade, while pursuing her college education. She was a proud graduate of Los Angeles Valley College and a double Bruin, graduating Summa Cum Laude from UCLA with a B.A. in Psychology, and continuing to earn her J.D. from UCLA Law School.
She served as President of the UCLA School of Law Moot Court Honors Board, Co-Chair of the Juvenile Hall Clinic, Co-Chair of the Innocence Project, Managing Editor of the Women’s Law Journal, and a Writing Advisor for the Lawyering Skills Clinical Program. After graduation, she was selected as an American Board of Trial Advocates (ABOTA) Fellow, during which she clerked for the Presiding Judge of the Los Angeles Superior Court, Kevin Brazile.
Amber began her law career at a mighty civil rights law firm where she met her dear friend, mentor and social justice sister, Genie Harrison. Shortly after, Amber left the firm with Genie to start the Genie Harrison Law Firm, where she dedicated herself to her clients. She litigated in both state and federal court, against private employers and governmental entities, trying cases, authoring appellate briefs, and arguing cases in front of the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
Amber committed her life, from an early age, to the disenfranchised, objectified and abused. She was a born dissenter. Marching, lobbying and advocating for women’s, LGBTQ+, Black, and other historically overlooked causes. A passionate and dedicated civil rights activist, she was also an invited guest speaker on the subjects of sexual harassment and employment law.
Amber was wonderfully passionate, incredibly dynamic, kind and joyful. She was beautiful, bright and accomplished, with a razor-sharp wit and an infectious laugh. She was brave and determined. She embraced the obstacles. She made you feel comfortable, special and seen. She truly loved people and all their idiosyncrasies. She was selfless, empathetic, altruistic and inspired us all to be more tolerant and compassionate.
Among so many others, Amber is survived by her devoted husband, two adoring brothers, a cherished brother-in-law, and her loyal bulldog, Boogie.
