Phyllis Markus

Multicultural Advocacy

For the past 40 years Phyllis Woollen Markus has provided meaningful leadership, building collaboration between diverse religious, ethnic and racial groups in St. Louis to help create a more pluralistic society. This focus was enacted as she worked with the Jewish Community Relations Council (JCRC), serving as chair from 2012-2015, and with the Michael and Barbara Newmark Institute for Human Relations, serving as chair from 2017-2022. Phyllis created the Community Against Poverty coalition (CAP), a collaboration of interfaith and intergroup partners focused on poverty issues. Phyllis has been a businesswoman and volunteer, but is most proudly a mother of two and a grandmother of five.