Phylicia Fauntleroy Bowman is a native Washingtonian, born in 1947. When she was about six, her family moved to Brightwood, where they were the second Black family on the block. She attended Park View Elementary and, after desegregation, West Elementary, then MacFarland Junior High and Roosevelt High School. She attended Oberlin College before pursuing graduate degrees at Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies and American University. An economist, Bowman spent most of her career at the D.C. Public Service Commission, including many years as executive director.