Sharon Phillips, a Tampa native, is also a fourth generation Floridian. She graduated from Hillsborough High School and The Florida State University where she earned a degree in vocational home economics education. She also attended Western Carolina University, earning a masters in school administration.

She followed in the footsteps of a long line of educators: her mother, two aunts and a grandmother who all taught in the Tampa area. Sharon began teaching in Key West in 1970, then in Georgia and returning to Tampa in 1977. She retired as a principal in 2019.

Sharon met her husband at first Baptist Church Tampa as a toddler, was married there and celebrated 48 anniversaries before he died in 2018. She enjoyed singing in the choir, playing violin in the Orchestra and working with youth groups and on mission trips and projects. Their three children also participated in many activities of the church. During her retirement, Sharon enjoys spending time with her 10 grandchildren located in Boston, Indianapolis and Tampa. When not babysitting in one of those locations, she may be found sewing for a church missions group, teaching sewing to 2nd to 5th graders, sewing costumes for a drama school or volunteering at the information kiosk at the Tampa International Airport.