Born in Bundaberg, Associate Professor Sandra Phillips is descended from the Wakka Wakka and Goreng Goreng peoples Southern Queensland. She grew up on her people's country, raised by her mother amongst her mother's extended family. Her family background includes three other Aboriginal nations.
A/Prof Phillips holds a Bachelor of Arts in sociology and government from the University of Queensland (1988). In her twenties and thirties she travelled and worked around Australia in social research and teaching. She trained as a book editor with Magabala Books and the University of Queensland Press. During this time Phillips also had three sons.
In 2007, she was the recipient of the inaugural Oodgeroo Noonuccal Postgraduate Scholarship, and the Indigenous Postgraduate Research Award (IPRA), earning her PhD in literary studies from the Creative Industries Faculty of the Queensland University of Technology in 2012. She began working as a lecturer with the University of the Sunshine Coast shortly after graduation and became a lecturer in Publishing and Literary Studies, at QUT’s Creative Industries Faculty from 2013-2017.
From 2017-2019, Sandra served as the inaugural Chairperson of the Advisory Panel for the Brisbane Writers Festival. In 2019, she was board member for National Institute of Dramatic Arts (NIDA), the State Library of Queensland, and Of One Mind (non-profit organisation).
In December 2019, Associate Professor Philips was appointed Associate Dean for Indigenous Engagement for the Humanities and Social Sciences Faculty, The University of Queensland.
Sandra Phillips has extensive experience in editing and publishing, having worked at University of Queensland Press, Magabala Books and Aboriginal Studies Press. She has also been on literary judging panels including the black&write! Fellowships, the David Unaipon Awards, and the Stella Prize.
