Meet the Director

On March 7, 2011, Judge Phyllis Carter assumed the role of Acting Executive Director of the West Virginia Human Rights Commission.  Shortly thereafter, she received a congratulatory letter from Governor Earl Ray Tomblin and confirmation of that role by Senate President, Jeffrey Kessler

For eleven years prior to being appointed Acting Executive Director, Judge Carter worked as the Chief Administrative Law Judge for the Commission.  In her capacity as Chief Administrative Law Judge, she heard cases involving allegations of employment and public accommodation discrimination as well as violations of the West Virginia Fair Housing Act.  She has served as a managing attorney with the Tidewater Legal Aid Society, Norfolk, Virginia; an Assistant City Attorney, Little Rock, Arkansas; and an Assistant Attorney General for West Virginia. 

Also, she has headed numerous positions in West Virginia state government including Commissioner of the Division of Human Services, Executive Director, Division of Juvenile Services and Director of Federal State Relations in the office of Governor Gaston Caperton.  In addition, she has served as House Counsel to the following three House Committees of the West Virginia Legislature, namely, Constitutional Revision, 1994; Political Subdivisions, and Industry and Labor, 1994, 1995, 1996 and 1997.  Judge Carter is licensed to practice law before the West Virginia Bar, Virginia Bar and Arkansas Bar.  She is admitted to practice before the Supreme Court of the United States.  She is a member of the Board of Governors for the National Association of Administrative Law Judiciary.   She is the immediate-past president of the West Virginia Association of Administrative Law Judges.  Judge Carter graduated magna cum laude from St. Augustine’s College, Raleigh, North Carolina.

While at St. Augustine’s, she studied at the Sorbonne and L’Alliance Francise in Paris, France. She holds a Juris Doctor Degree from the College of William and Mary, Marshall-Wythe School of Law, Williamsburg, Virginia, a Certificate in Administrative Law Adjudication and a Certificate in Dispute Resolution from the National Judicial College.  She joined the faculty of the National Judicial College in 2007, where she teaches courses to attorneys and judges regarding courtroom issues.