We recently connected with Ysela Williams Phillips and have shared our conversation below.
Ysela, thanks for joining us, excited to have you contributing your stories and insights. When did you first know you wanted to pursue a creative/artistic path professionally?
The Spark: Not Dead Yet
I have been immersed in creativity for as long as I can remember. Growing up in the church, the stage was my second home—I did everything from pantomimes and singing in the choir to ushering, leading services, and speaking comfortably in front of large crowds. That passion followed me through school musicals and plays, and as I grew older, it evolved into leadership. I found immense joy running the children’s ministry at my church and directing large-scale performing arts productions with them.
Naturally, that love for human connection led me to my career as a Speech-Language Pathologist, where my daily mission became helping children literally find and own their physical voices.
But throughout my life, because I was always pouring my creativity into service, ministry, and therapy, people who saw my talent would constantly tell me, “Ysela, you missed your calling by not pursuing your passion at a professional level.” I heard it for years, and it always lingered in the back of my mind.
The definitive moment of clarity happened right at my church. An amazing woman, who was someone who truly knew my heart and my capabilities—looked at me after a performance and told me, with deep love and absolute certainty, that I had missed my calling for the last time.
In that exact moment, something shifted inside me. Instead of accepting that it was too late, a spark caught fire. I looked right at her, smiled, and said, “I’m not dead yet!”
That witty, defiant reflex was the exact moment I knew. I realized that my passion wasn’t a missed chapter—it was the next chapter. I was ready to take everything I knew about voice, storytelling, and human expression, step out in faith, and claim my place as a professional filmmaker and actress.
Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.
My Story, My Mission, and My Brand
Hello everyone! I am Ysela Williams Phillips, and if I had to sum up my entire life and career in a single phrase, it would be this: I am a creative communicator. I am an actress, an independent filmmaker, a Speech-Language Pathologist (SLP), mentor and a coach. More than anything, thought, I am someone who is actively walking a journey of discovery, learning better how to understand, protect, and amplify the human voice.
The Problems I Help Solve
I don’t look at myself as a fixer with all the answers- rather, I look at myself as a collaborator who helps people unpack and discover their own potential.
In Healthcare & Education: I am the founder of YELI P Services, a speech-language pathology company that proudly services state and local government contracts. Together with my team, we work to solve critical developmental and communication challenges, giving children and individuals the functional tools they need to speak and be understood.
In Film & Art: As an actress and award-winning independent filmmaker, I look at every project as a collaborative community. Film sets can sometimes feel high-pressure or intimidating, so I try to bring the heart of an encourager to every mark I set onto.
What Sets Me Apart
What truly sets me apart is the unique bridge between my clinical background and my artistic vision. I don’t just look at storytelling visually. My SLP background gives me a deep respect for the mechanics of voice, dialect, and body language. while my filmmaker experience helps me understand how a performance fits into the larger frame. Whether I am directing an actress on set, coaching a creative entrepreneur to step out in faith, or helping a child produce a sound, I am using the exact same superpower: empathy, precision, and an innate ability to pull potential out of people. I don’t just tell stories—I build communicators.
What I Am Most Proud Of
Professionally, I am incredibly grateful for the milestones this journey has blessed me with recently—from earning acting roles and stepping into the director’s chair to seeing my short film “Don’t Let It Ride,” receive award recognition and securing international distribution.
But on a personal level, nothing outshines my family. My role as a wife and a mother is what keeps me grounded. Seeing my children thrive, step into their own talents, and graduate into their next chapters is my greatest joy. Everything I build is rooted in the love and support of my family. Every milestone I achieve is shared with them, and their love is what fuels my courage to keep leaping.
What I Want Followers to Know About My Brand & Work
I want my followers to know that the Ysela Williams Phillips brand is entirely about impact, collaboration, and elevation.
I am deeply passionate about networking, connecting dots, and inspiring other creatives to “leap into their greatness”- because I am actively doing it right alongside them. Whether, I am managing YELI P Services, coaching emerging talent, filming my next production or embodying a character on screen, my mission is dedicated to teaching the next generation to find their voice, claim their space, and tell their stories without apology. I am living proof that life is a beautiful, unfolding journey, and it is never too late to take everything you’ve learned about the human voice- from the therapy room straight to the film set- and create something beautiful!
For you, what’s the most rewarding aspect of being a creative?
h, that’s an easy one! For me, the most rewarding part of being a creative is that I get to be a professional dot-connector and potential-unlocker.
Think about it: whether I’m stepping onto a film set as an actress, calling the shots in the director’s chair, or working in the therapy room as a Speech-Language Pathologist, I am using the exact same superpower—empathy and the human voice.
There is nothing quite like the rush of helping someone find their voice, claim their space, and tell their story without apology. On a film set, that means creating a collaborative, high-energy community where everyone feels encouraged to leap into their greatness. In my clinical work, it means giving someone the tools to be understood.
Basically, I get to live out my ultimate mission every single day: taking everything I know about the human voice from the therapy room straight to the big screen, blending clinical precision with artistic magic, and watching people discover just how powerful they really are. Plus, I get to prove that you don’t have to pick just one lane…you can build a whole highway!
What’s a lesson you had to unlearn and what’s the backstory?
The Lesson to Unlearn: “You have to pick just one lane, and if you didn’t start early, you missed the boat.”
The Backstory: For a long time, the world tried to hand me two rules: choose a single box to fit into, and stick to a strict, standard timeline for success. As a Speech-Language Pathologist building a healthcare company, I used to think my artistic dreams as an actress and filmmaker had to stay on the back burner. I worried that balancing a business and raising a beautiful family meant the window for my creative calling had closed.
I had to radically unlearn both of those myths and trade the world’s standards for God’s blueprint.
When it comes to staying in “one lane,” I look at the Parable of the Talents in Matthew 25. God doesn’t give us gifts just to bury half of them in the dirt out of fear or convenience. He expects us to multiply and use everything He poured into us. When I stopped trying to separate my clinical world from my artistic world, things happened. My SLP background gave me a deep respect for the mechanics of voice and body language on set, and my filmmaker eye gave me a vision for the bigger picture.
And as for the “perfect timeline”? Ecclesiastes 3:11 promises that “He has made everything beautiful in its time.” Scripture is packed with people whose greatest chapters began exactly when the world thought they were too old or too busy. Take a look at Abraham, Sarah, or Moses! God is the master of the unfolding journey, and He doesn’t waste a single chapter. If I had started film younger, I wouldn’t have had the empathy, the clinical precision, or the grounded foundation my family gives me today.
Unlearning those limits gave me the faith to take a massive leap. Today, I am stepping in front of the camera to bring characters to life as an actress, behind the camera to call the shots as a director, and on the side of everyday people, coaching and encouraging them to find their voice and leap into their own greatness. I’m living proof that you don’t have to choose just one lane. God gave you a whole highway, and when you drive in His timing, your next chapter will always be your greatest masterpiece!
Contact Info:
- Website: https://Yelipservices.com
- Instagram: ysela_acts
- Facebook: ysela_acts
- Linkedin: Ysela Williams Phillips
- Youtube: ysela_acts
