Phyllis Faria

Phyllis Faria was born as Phyllis Yolanda Virginia de Souza in a family of educationists^[5] on 17 April 1924^[6] to Alphonsus Ligouri de Souza and Elsie Beatrice.^[7] Phyllis became a teacher and taught for over 25 years.^[7] She was married to Antonio Vasco de Faria.^[6]

In 1966, Faria was appointed as the Chairperson of the Project Implementation Committee, Bardez.^[5] In 1970, she was elected as a Councillor of the Mapusa Municipal Council^[5] and in 1973 became the first woman President of the Council.^[3]

In January 1985, Faria along with Sulochana Katkar and Sangeeta Parab was nominated as a member of the Goa Legislative Assembly.^[1] During her tenure as a nominated MLA^[4] of the Goa Legislative Assembly, she served as a member of the Library Committee and the Committee on Privileges of the Goa Legislative Assembly.^[8]

She was also the President of the North Goa Mahila Congress.^[5] In 1990, Faria became the first woman Chairperson of the Goa Handicrafts Rural & Small Scale Industries Development Corporation (GHRSSIDC). She served as the Chairperson of the Juvenile Welfare Board. Faria was the Vice Chairperson of the Sanjay Centre For Special Education and as a Director of the Goa Bal Bhavan. She also chaired the Managing Committee of the Sacred Heart School at Parra, Goa.^[5]

She was honoured with the Yashadamini Puraskar by the Government of Goa in 2002.^[7] Faria was felicitated on 9 January 2014 at the valedictory ceremony to mark the Golden Jubilee celebrations of the Goa Legislative Assembly.^[9]

Faria died at the Goa Medical College on 22 February 2018^[6] after a brief illness.^[10]