For the last eight years, Dr. Karla Phillips has been surrounded at work by mostly blue skies, wild and carefully cultivated fields, an array of student-sown fruits and vegetables and animals as big as horses and as small as trout minnows.

Soon, the newly retired and former dean of the Yavapai College Agribusiness and Technology Center will be surrounded by the deep blue sea and all the flora and fauna it contains. She and her husband, Michael, are planning to relive, in part, a youthful adventure at sea.

“When I was first married we sold everything and lived on a boat for eight years. We sailed the South Pacific for five years,” Karla said, reflecting that her adventurous spirit is bringing her “full circle.” The couple’s plan to re-set sail took shape 10 years ago. It was spring break and Karla recalls “that we found ourselves longing for it again.” They were buoyed, she said, by advances in navigation technology, convincing them that, “even a couple of old farts could do some sailing now.”

Although initially planning to sail full time, like they did when they were young, the Phillips’ have decided to divide their time between land and sea and limit their seafaring to the warm, aquamarine waters of the Bahamas.

As associate dean of the Chino Valley Center, Karla made sure everyone she crossed paths with knew where she worked and  exactly what students were doing and learning there. The petite educator was arguably the Chino Valley Center’s biggest cheerleader. She doesn’t deny it.

Employing frequent tours, civic involvement and marketing savvy she largely succeeded in heightening awareness of the Chino Valley Center and its programs. As a result, “we have been able to bring more positive attention to the campus – to help that campus become more relevant. Everybody out there loves what they’re doing, loves the location and loves what that campus is about.”

Another hallmark of Karla’s service to YC students and the community, her colleagues will tell you: program expansion.

“Karla was instrumental in launching our aviation-drone program, getting the canine program  solidified, commercial-truck driving and construction technology, to name a few,” said Justin Brereton, YC horticulture professor. “She was very active with the Chamber of Commerce. And her knowledge of curriculum and process was huge for us. She will be missed,” Justin said.

A self-described “Air Force brat” and “Dr. Doolittle wannabe” who moved around the country and globe growing up, Karla strayed from her childhood dreams to attend the Colorado School of Mines. She traded engineering for post-baccalaureate teacher training in the sciences at the University of Colorado before going on her sea odyssey. Afterward, in Hawaii, she continued her education, worked in veterinary science, taught elementary school and started her own nutrition consulting business. It was through a business contact that she landed a position building a Supplemental Instruction program for career education students at a Hawaii community college.

A distance-learning position at Coconino Community College in Flagstaff followed on the heels of the Phillips’ decision to live more economically stateside. “We had traveled a lot in Northern Arizona and decided that was another paradise for us,” Karla said. Two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. in educational leadership also followed Karla’s return to the continent.

While tackling increasingly fulfilling positions at CCC and pursuing her degrees, Karla kept her eye on Yavapai College faculty openings. In 2012, a job that was seemingly made for her – associated dean of the Chino Valley Center -- was posted. “That’s it. That’s the perfect job. A rural campus, an agriculture campus. I didn’t think there could be anything better,” Karla recalled.

The match made, Karla took the reins of YC in Chino Valley in October 2012. Fast forward to 2020, with just hours separating her from retirement, she said the notion of leaving YC and the workforce was a little unsettling.

“All my life I’ve been thinking that someday I get to retire. I always thought about how wonderful it will be when it’s here. But now that it’s here, it’s a very strange feeling leaving a job and not going to another.” And, Karla said, “when you have so much invested in what you did in your career, there’s a certain sadness in saying goodbye to all those people.”

Sentimentality aside, Karla said she is leaving the Chino Valley Center in very capable hands. “The team, the people there are great. They’re dedicated, they’re passionate and they’re all doing their best to make exciting things happen.”