Clorisa Phillips is a historian and essayist, retired from a long career in higher education. She explores family stories, aiming to reveal overlooked or commonly unknown facets of life. Her personal essays have appeared in The Christian Science Monitor, Halfway Down the Stairs, Next Tribe, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, and other publications. Clorisa holds a B.A. degree from William & Mary and M.Ed. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Virginia. She lives in Charlottesville, Virginia.