As Chief Social Scientist, Phillip leads overall program development of the 23 Networks, 77 scholarly journals, and a vigorous book publishing program. He works with Research Network Chairs, Host Committees, Journal Editors, and Advisory Boards from universities around the world to craft themes, select speakers, and develop publishing programs. Phillip is also responsible for management and strategic direction and day-to-day operations of the organization, with sales of $2m per year and a staff of 30, located in Champaign IL and Granada, Spain. Responsibilities include consulting and negotiating contracts and formulating policy on copyright and publication ethics. In parallel with overseeing Common Ground Research Networks global publishing and events operations, he leads the CGScholar software team, building a platform that has become a trusted marketplace for knowledge work—one that rigorously democratizes the process of knowledge-making, rewards participants, and offers a secure basis for the sustainable creation and distribution of digital knowledge artifacts. CGScholar currently supports 200,000 user profiles, having published more than 27,000 peer reviewed articles and 250 books.

As a member of the Digital Innovation Committee and Professional and Scholarly Publishing Executive Council of the Association of American Publishers (AAP), Phillip has served his industry at the highest levels. The AAP represents the leading book, journal, and education publishers in the United States in matters of intellectual property law and policy, advocating for outcomes that incentivize the access to creative expression, professional content, and learning solutions. As a member of these committees, he has learned from the ground-level the content side of the industry, worked side by side with C-level management of global scholarly communication companies, and been a part of policy engagement with the White House Office of Technology Policy. All of these activities have afforded him a unique understanding of the information technology and intellectual property landscape of a significant business sector during a critical phase of digital transformation.