Phaedra Ellis-Lamkins (born 1976 ) is an American entrepreneur and former labor organizer. She is the co-founder and chief executive officer of Promise, a technology company that provides software to government agencies and utilities.
Earlier in her career, Ellis-Lamkins served as executive director of the South Bay AFL–CIO Labor Council and as chief executive officer of Green For All. She later managed the musician Prince and worked at the home-care technology company Honor.
Early career After graduating from California State University, Northridge in 1998, Ellis-Lamkins became a union organizer with SEIU Local 715 in San Jose.
Ellis-Lamkins later served as executive director of the South Bay AFL-CIO Labor Council. In 2003, she helped launch the Partnership for Working Families, a national coalition of labor and community organizations.
Green For All Ellis-Lamkins joined Green For All as chief executive officer in March 2009.
As chief executive, Ellis-Lamkins lobbied for policies supporting green-sector job creation and increased workforce participation among low-income, working-class, and minority communities.
Prince Ellis-Lamkins became the manager for the musician Prince in 2014. Under her management Prince performed a number of concerts to promote social justice causes, including one in Baltimore in honor of Freddie Gray, a man killed by Baltimore police.
Ellis-Lamkins is credited with winning Prince's life-long battle to secure ownership of his masters. Van Jones described that occasion as "the happiest I have ever seen him."
Honor In 2015 Ellis-Lamkins joined Honor, Inc. as their Head of Care. Honor is a San Francisco-based technology start up that helps people secure in-home care professionals.
Promise In 2017, Ellis-Lamkins co-founded Promise. The company initially focused on bail reform before shifting toward data aggregation software for state and local governments and utilities, including systems for managing payment plans. Ellis-Lamkins serves as the company's chief executive.
Awards and recognition In 2018, Ellis-Lamkins received a Silver SPUR Award from SPUR.
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