Phalana leads the Harbor Freight Leadership Lab, a program established in partnership with Harbor Freight Tools for Schools that aims to boost K-12 skilled trades education by developing effective leaders. Phalana also drives learning throughout all Drucker Institute programs including producing content for our online courses for managers and training programs for rising public sector leaders, as well as the digital learning modules for our nonprofit performance recognition program. Her portfolio includes serving as curriculum director of our youth-centered Drucker for English Language Learners program and executing our social media strategy.

Phalana joined the Drucker Institute in 2010 with a rich background in teaching and curriculum design, nonprofit program management and the performing arts. She has lobbied for public welfare reform in Washington, D.C., taught youth and adults in Virginia, New York and California, and performed in film, theater, commercial and television productions globally.

Phalana holds a B.A. in history and M.A. in teaching from the University of Virginia. She currently serves on the Board of Directors of Pilgrim Place, a historic senior community committed to justice, peace and care of the Earth, and as a Board Member of AgingNext, a regional nonprofit committed to the needs of aging adults and their families, especially those who want to continue living independently at home, and on the Executive Committee of Claremont Change, a grassroots organization aimed at addressing local issues of racial justice and equity. Phalana is an avid racewalker and a struggling student of the Japanese language.