ABOUT JOANNE
Joanne Phillips is a dedicated public servant who was elected to serve as Delaware County Controller in November 2017 and began her four-year term in January 2018 where she was part of the first class of Democrats to flip all of the county-wide elected positions blue. She was reelected to serve a second four-year term in November 2021.
As Controller- the County’s fiscal watchdog, Joanne has been responsible for rebuilding the Controller’s office, which handles thousands of financial transactions, the retirement fund, payroll, audits and financial reporting. She clawed back $750,000 from an off-book bank account the Republicans at the jail were using as a slush fund, created an unclaimed property program and a fraud hotline, helped lead the effort to take back our County jail from a for-profit company, saved money reorganizing audit work, and won the nation’s highest award for financial reporting all 8 years she's been in office. She attends every Council meeting, is a member of the Jail Oversight Board and Retirement Board. She also represents the County at the Pennsylvania Association of County Controllers, and serves on its legislative committee and as representative to the PA State Association of Elected Officials.
Joanne is an experienced attorney who had a successful career representing business clients, cultural institutions, hospitals, universities, and pro bono clients in land use, real estate development and finance. She also gained valuable government experience when she took on the role as the Director of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania's Bureau of Real Estate, where she oversaw a multi-million-dollar portfolio of leased facilities and real property. She also worked as a Special Assistant to Philadelphia’s Managing Director, working on a variety of community and business projects.
A proud graduate of Widener University's Delaware Law School, Joanne graduated summa cum laude as the valedictorian of her class and was an editor of the law review. She received her B.A. from Ursinus College, where she was a member of the school's nationally-ranked field hockey team.
Ms. Phillips and her husband, a retired union laborer, have lived in Middletown Township for thirty-six years. They raised two children who attended schools in the Rose Tree Media School District and graduated from Penncrest High School. Joanne was active in her community supporting school and sports organizations. She was a director of the Rose Tree Soccer Club for many years, became a licensed soccer coach, and coached boys' and girls' intramural and travel teams for more than 15 years.
Being a leader in professional and community organizations has also been important to Joanne, and highlights include serving as Chair of the Real Property Section of the Philadelphia Bar Association and the Chair of the Delaware Valley Chapter of the Counselors of Real Estate. Ms. Phillips currently is a board member of the Pennsylvania Convention Center Authority, where she chairs the Legal Affairs Committee and is a member of the Capital Improvement committee. Ms. Phillips is a member of the Pennsylvania and Delaware County Bar Association, and the deFuria Inn of Court. Joanne is also a director on the board of the Independence Seaport Museum.
