Alberta Phillips is a local writer and award-winning journalist, who began her career at an African American publication, The Call and Times, in Cincinnati, Ohio. The majority of her career has been with the Austin city daily, The Austin American-Statesman, where she rose from a neighbor reporter to Editorial Writer and Columnist, taking the pulse of Austin and its Communities of Color for more than 30 years. While at the Statesman, she covered a variety of beats, including public schools, city hall, utilities, race relations, environmental issues, business and industry, and city, state and national politics. She was the first African American woman to serve in the Texas Capitol Press Corps, covering Gov. Ann Richards and Gov. George W. Bush. She has won numerous awards for journalism excellence and was nominated twice for a Pulitzer Prize. Ms. Phillips left the American-Statesman in 2018 to pursue other interests. In September 2020 to respond to elections, the COVID 19 crisis and the George Floyd killing and its aftermath, Ms. Phillips launched a public affairs and news show called, ATX Now In Color! The show focuses on Communities of Color in the Austin-Travis County area. It airs Tuesdays at 9:30 am on KAZI-FM community radio (88.7 FM). In addition to serving as the first African American Board President for Texas Campaign for the Environment, she also gives back to the Austin and Travis County area with service on other boards: as Commissioner on the City of Austin’s Joint Sustainability Committee; and the Travis County African American Cultural Heritage Commission as an interim Commissioner. Current projects include curating the Peggy Drake Holland Student Lounge at the McCombs School of Business at the University of Texas at Austin; and curating a 17-mile citywide bike tour featuring African American historical sites.