Latifah Alfonso Phillips currently serves as the Chief Equity and Engagement Officer of the Lowell Public Schools. She oversees a newly created department which has the task of operationalizing the district's commitment toward eliminating racial, ethnic and linguistic achievement and opportunity gaps among all students. Prior to moving to Lowell, Latifah held district and state-level education leadership positions in Pennsylvania, New Mexico and Washington. She began her teaching career in Takasaki, Gunma, Japan before returning to the US to become an elementary and middle school teacher in Edcouch-Elsa, Texas and Brooklyn, New York. Most recently, Latifah served as the State Director of Native Education in Washington State. She has also served as Assistant Secretary of Indian Education for the New Mexico Public Education Department, Chief of Staff for Santa Fe Public Schools and Executive Director of Non-Instructional Professional Development and Performance Management in the School District of Philadelphia.

Latifah was born and raised in San Francisco, CA and is a citizen of the Tohono O'odham Nation, situated in southern Arizona. She took a cross-continental drive with her nephews and two small pups before arriving in Lowell. In her downtime, she enjoys exploring the local cultural cuisine of Lowell with her partner, Masachs J. Boungou.

Latifah holds an MA in International Education Development from Teachers College, Columbia University. She also completed an M.Ed. in Secondary Education from the University of Texas, Rio Grande Valley and a B.A. in Global Institutions and Communication at the University of California, Davis.