Tunicia Phillips

Tunicia Jegels nee Phillips (33), is a freelance journalist who specializes in energy, mining, climate and business news. With over ten years in the media industry, she has spent most of her career in broadcast where she covered all beats including social justice, criminal justice, politics, policy and lifestyle. In 2021 she joined the Mail & Guardian, South Africa’s premium investigative weekly as a economic justice reporting fellow with a special focus on climate and environment. Phillips is an award winning field reporter and has been nominated multiple times at the SA Radio Awards for documentaries, podcasting and news reading. Having spent most of her life living in South Africa’s marginalized ‘townships,’ her intersectional nature and appreciation for giving voice to the voiceless has informed her news values. This year she joined the Presidential Climate Commission on a tour across the country for public consultations on South Africa’s Just Transition Framework. This will culminate in a documentary focused on women at the center of the country’s transition. Phillips facilitates and designs training in climate and energy journalism to enhance capacity in local newsrooms. Her debut non – fiction book, ‘Homeground Advantage’ is set to be released in 2022.