Phyllis Tynes-Saunders is a native Conch, born and raised in Key West, Florida.  As Director for the Department of Human Services, she works to provide social and human services to the public.  She is a progressive, proactive and results oriented public administrator.

Her professional career began as a Special Education Teacher for the Alachua County School District in 1979.  The following school year she returned to Key West where she accepted a teaching position at her alma mater, Key West High School.  While at Key West High School, Phyllis realized that she had more to offer in terms of "making a difference" in public organizations.  In 1984, she left Key West High School, to pursue a Masters Degree in Public Administration.  During that time, she was employed by Miami-Dade County as a Management Trainee.  She soon continued to advance in the County. At the Office of Community and Economic Development, she started as an Assistant to the Director and later became the Acting Deputy Director for the Department of Human Services.

Ms. Tynes-Saunders completed her undergraduate degree in Special Education at Florida State University.  Thereafter, she earned a Masters of Science in Public Administration from Florida International University.  Ms. Tynes-Saunders is also a graduate of the prestigious Executive Leadership Institute of the National Forum for Black Public Administrators (NFBPA).

She is an active member of Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc. and volunteers for Girl Scout-Troop 751.  She is a member of the Episcopal Church of the Ascension where she serves on the Vestry and Chairman of the Building Committee.