Gary Phillips is the 2016-2017 poet laureate of Carrboro, North Carolina. He is a writer, naturalist, and entrepreneur. Gary has a special interest and expertise in conservation easements and other land-protective strategies. He co-founded Weaver Street Realty over thirty years ago and is still active in the business. He lives in a rammed-earth house with his wife, Ilana Dubester, in Silk Hope, North Carolina. Gary avidly reads poetry and anthropological science fiction, studies amphibian activities on full moon nights, and was once chair of the Chatham County Board of Commissioners.