Phil Gift is a registered nurse who spent the last 17 years of his nursing career working with the Department of Veterans Affairs. In this phase of his career, he served veterans as a triage RN at the Marion VA Medical Center before finishing up his career as a Patient Care Manager at the Muncie VA Community Based Outpatient Clinic on Morrison Road.

Phil was born and raised in Fairmount, Indiana, where he attended all twelve years of school in what is now the Madison-Grant school system. After his high school graduation, he earned an associate degree in journalism from Vincennes University, a Bachelor of Science Degree in Administrative Management from the University of Cincinnati, and a Bachelor of Science Degree in Nursing from Ball State University.

During his time as a federal employee, the Hatch Act prohibited his running for elected political office. Now that he is no longer a federal employee, he states, “Serving America’s veterans was one of the greatest honors and pleasures I have ever had in my life. However, as I close my career of service to America’s veterans, I am anxious to expand my service to the people of the state of Indiana. We must make sure that our laws, and the legislators who make them, recognize the inherent rights of every Hoosier guaranteed under our constitution. We must fight to remain free from the tyranny of church and state, ensuring that we use government only to assure the freedom, safety, and well-being of our citizens, so that every individual is able to pursue life, liberty, and happiness—regardless of who they love, how they love, and how they plan their families.”