Phil Brooks is a creative leader and was a great advisor among his undergraduate proteges as well as his graduate student peers. Since his Ph.D. graduation, Phillip annually gives back to MSU AGEP and SROP communities through his continued mentorship of future scholars covering a wide range of topics. The development of a diverse scientific workforce is important to him, and he finds formal and informal opportunities to help others. He also represented MSU well during our science advocacy work in Washington DC. Dr. Brooks has remarkable talent of making complex scientific concepts easy to understand. I’m sure he will continue to be trailblazer within any organization he joins.