Phillip Sheldon

Phillip Sheldon is a Program Manager with MDC Rural Forward, a Rural Prosperity and Investment program. He started as a Rural Forward program support administrator in August 2019 and was promoted to partnership manager in 2021. In his work at MDC, Phillip provides local, regional, and state partners with technical assistance – including facilitation, strategic planning, leadership coaching, and conflict mediation.  Phillip serves as principal for our work in the northeastern counties of Halifax and Northampton.

As the lead on economic security, Phillip is particularly passionate about integrated family income supports, building bridges across differences, and elevating the needs, innovations, and solutions of rural communities.

He brings to his work a background in group facilitation and project management. Prior to joining MDC, Phillip worked on affordable housing policy in the Piedmont Triad area. In Davie County, he developed a housing plan based on community feedback and research on local housing and demographic trends in partnership with county management.

Phillip graduated summa cum laude from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro with dual bachelor’s degrees in Religious Studies and Sociology and History. Phillip attained his master’s in Public Affairs from the University of North Carolina at Greensboro in May 2019. It’s his goal to bring these many different disciplines into his work in communities across the US South. Currently he lives in Greensboro, North Carolina with his wife, daughter, and two dogs.