Phylicia Hancock Lewis was a nurse practitioner in family practice with Confluence Health in Omak for 25 years, retiring this past December. She was raised in Omak and has worked as a ranch hand on her family's purebred red angus bull ranch for many years while working at the clinic.

Phylicia remains a faculty clinical instructor and preceptor for her alma mater, the University of Washington (UW) School of Nursing. She also dedicated several years caring for Native American students as the provider for Paschal Sherman Indian School on the Colville Reservation. Her previous nursing position was the facility supervisor at Memorial City Rehab Hospital in Houston, Texas.

Additionally, she has served as the director of marketing at Medical Networks in Houston and as a director of large promotional productions for companies such as Coca-Cola, Continental Airlines and Alcoa. She was also a writer, producer and director for TravelView which designed and marketed travel shows around the world.

Phylicia has served on the Children's Dance Theater Board for over 20 years. She also served for years on Confluence Health's committee to allocate philanthropic funds.

Phylicia received her bachelor’s in nursing from UW. She has a master of science degree in learning technology and communications from Nova University in Florida and a master of science in nursing from the University of Texas Medical Branch. She is certified as a nurse practitioner through the American Nurses Credentialing Center.

She is married to T. Lewis, cartoonist and originator of the “Over the Hedge” comic strip and movie of the same name by DreamWorks Animation. Her son, Chandler Lewis is director of equity and inclusion with The Cross Cultural Health Care Program in Seattle and is an instructor at UW for National Science Foundation Innovation Corps Program.