About Elizabeth
Elizabeth Carlock Phillips has enjoyed fashion and jewelry design since middle school. In high school, she and a friend discovered their common interest in jewelry making, and they founded a nonprofit jewelry company, which raised thousands of dollars for charity. Upon graduating from Highland Park High School in Dallas, Texas, Elizabeth attended Southern Methodist University (SMU
), where she earned degrees in Corporate Communications & Public Affairs (CCPA) and French. She launched Elizabeth Carlock Designs in the summer of 2009 to combine her talent for design and passion for helping others into a charitable career. Elizabeth Carlock Designs is currently sold in stores nationwide, online at www.elizabethcarlock.com and via trunk shows. Also, see “The Cause” for more information on how Elizabeth Carlock Designs helps people in need. The Cause
Since childhood, Elizabeth Carlock Phillips has strived to use her gifts and resources to make a difference. She quickly realized she wanted to create a career that would bless others and implement her artistic ability and entrepreneurial spirit. Upon college graduation, she founded Elizabeth Carlock Designs as an avenue to raise funds for and extend herself to worthwhile causes through fashion. In February 2010, Elizabeth took her first trip to Uganda, Africa, where she began to teach and train the Akola Project women of The Ugandan American Partnership Organization (The UAPO) on how to design and make jewelry that will sell in the United States and beyond. She has been back to Uganda twice since, with a love and passion for The UAPO's mission and the women that have become her friends. Many of the women she works with in Uganda are refugees, widows and victims of genocidal horror, with multiple children and no practical skills or resources to earn an income. The women that she started with have now been equipped to start their own entrepreneurial endeavors through savings and loans programs and the security of a salary. The women's groups have grown to nearly 200 women total in four villages. Elizabeth continues to partner with The UAPO by selling the goods she designs in the states and adding new designs to the Akola Project collection seasonally. All of the profits made from this endeavor go directly back to The UAPO and its many sustainable projects in Ugana. Visit www.theuapo.org or www.akolaproject.org for more information on these initiatives. In addition to this Africa connection, Elizabeth Carlock Designs donates her design talents to several other influential organizations, including Peru Paper Company (www.perupaper.com) and Reconciliation Outreach (www.rodallas.org), and she continues to expand the mission of Elizabeth Carlock Designs to empower more women. See "Press" at www.elizabethcarlock.com for the media attention Elizabeth Carlock Designs has received over the years.
