Phyllis Mirsky named Del Mar Community Connections November Volunteer of the Month

Phyllis Mirsky

(Courtesy)

Phyllis Mirsky, a longtime volunteer for Del Mar Community Connections who has served in various leadership roles, has been named “Volunteer of the Month” for November by the Del Mar nonprofit organization. Mirsky has been volunteering for DMCC for quite some time now; in the summer of 2020 she retired from the DMCC Board of Directors after a six-year stint as secretary. Her dedication to DMCC didn’t stop there. For years, she has been working hard on the Tuesday Lunch Connections volunteer team, a carefully choreographed dance of serving beverages and food to Del Mar’s most mature seniors and doing the cleanup afterward. Mirsky has also served many times on the Annual Benefit Gala planning committee. This year, she oversaw the public communications and print materials, an essential job in the age of COVID-19.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Mirsky achieved a bachelor of science in social welfare from Ohio State University and later a master’s in librarianship from the University of Michigan. Mirsky’s career as a librarian spanned 40 years, working in distinguished libraries such as the UCLA Biomedical Library and the National Library of Medicine. She became one of the most influential health sciences librarians in the world, culminating in being honored as one of the Medical Library Association’s “100 Most Notable.” Mirsky retired from UC San Diego in 2005 as the Deputy University Librarian. Mirsky and her husband Ed have lived in Del Mar for four decades.

The Mirskys are the elbow grease types. They can always be counted on to show up early to an event to help with the setup and stay late to help with the cleanup. Mirsky says she volunteers because she has a “desire to help where and when needed,” which is why she initially believed she would have a career as a social worker. She still works as a volunteer at UCSD, mentoring first generation students.

DMCC has a variety of committees on which to serve, as committee members meet to share their ideas and expertise in a particular area in order to forward DMCC’s goals in the community. Mirsky says, “It’s the people that DMCC serves that make it all worthwhile.” Those interested in learning more about Phyllis Mirsky or volunteering for DMCC should visit dmcc.cc/volunteerofthemonth.