Phylisha “Phylli V” Villanueva is a Belizean-American poet, author, educator, producer, and cultural activist who explores themes of identity, colorism, inherited trauma, resilience, women’s empowerment, and spirituality. Born in the Bronx and raised in Yonkers, New York, her storytelling is deeply rooted in her Belizean heritage and lived experiences navigating womanhood, motherhood, and survival. She currently serves as the second Poet Laureate of Westchester County, leading a vibrant literary movement that centers poetry as a tool for public dialogue, community-building, and collective healing.
Villanueva’s artistic journey began in movement—as a hip-hop dancer and cheerleader but evolved into a calling for language and liberation through poetry. Her passion was sparked in high school when she encountered Bronx Masquerade by Nikki Grimes in an afterschool book club. At just 16, she traveled to workshops at Urban Word and the Nuyorican Poets Cafe to perform in poetry slams, only to return late at night to Yonkers. Motivated by the absence of local platforms for young voices, she founded the city’s first youth-led open mic series at the Blue Door Art Center. That program ran for five years and became a cornerstone of the local arts scene. I started as a teen volunteer and then took on other roles until finally becoming the center’s director of children’s programming and later serving on its board of directors as chair of the membership committee. Her legacy continues with the open mic and Saturday children's she created, becoming staples at the art center.
Her creative voice was briefly silenced during a complex, four-year abusive relationship. After the birth of her daughter, she made the courageous decision to leave and began writing again as an act of survival and reclamation. Homeless and navigating single motherhood, Villanueva began journaling letters to her daughter—letters later became the foundation for her self-published poetic memoir, Pretty Girl Special, a work of fierce honesty and deep healing. “Writing continues to save my life,” she says. “The spoken word is how I riot, rejoice, and recharge. I look forward to future conversations with my daughter about why I chose artivism.”
Villanueva holds an Associate of Arts from Westchester Community College and earned her B.A. in Creative Writing from SUNY Empire State College in 2023. She completed her MFA in Creative Writing (Poetry) at St. Francis College in May 2025. As Poet Laureate of Westchester, she is committed to democratizing poetry—curating countywide open mics, public poetry installations, ekphrastic writing workshops, and performance-based programs that amplify diverse voices. Her poem “Hope for Us is a Deep Current” was commissioned and performed at the historic 2024 inauguration of Ken Jenkins, Westchester County’s first African-American Deputy County Executive.
Her laureate work is supported by a $50,000 grant from the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, administered by ArtsWestchester, where she also serves as a teaching artist. Her commitment to literary access extends through partnerships with organizations such as the New York State Council on the Arts, Mount Vernon Arts Initiative, and the Hudson Valley Writers Center. She founded Westchester Live Music and Poetry LLC, a platform bridging artists and venues through live performance and digital connection.
Villanueva is a founding member of The Yonkers Writing Group, a core member of the Jazz and Poetry Choir Collective—a genre-bending ensemble that merges spoken word with live jazz—and a member of Tesoro, an international women’s poetry collective. Her poetry has appeared in Out of Africa, Fiber Plus, and On Your Mark, and she has performed at the Nuyorican Poets Cafe, NYU, John Jay University, The Baha’i Center, and The Rockefeller Brothers Pocantico Center, among others.
Whether speaking into a mic, curating cultural events, or guiding new writers through their healing, Phylisha “Phylli V” Villanueva continues to make space for truth, imagination, and transformation. Her work reminds us that poetry is not just art but revolution, restoration, and remembrance.
