Phoenix is an Assistant Professor of Management at California State University Fullerton. Prior to this Phoenix was a postdoctoral researcher in the Organizational Leadership & Diversity research group at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Stuttgart, Germany. He earned his Ph.D. from The University of Colorado Boulder and received his Bachelor’s degree in Economics with distinction from Colorado College. Phoenix's research is interdisciplinary and converges at the intersection of diversity, mental health, and leadership. His work has been published in journals such as Journal of Management, Business Ethics Quarterly, and Human Relations. In addition to several research fellowships, his research has been supported by external donor funding at the University of Colorado and internal research grants at Max Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems.

The overarching goal of Phoenix's research is to understand how leadership, diversity, and mental health emerge and interact at work. His research takes a person-centered approach using a variety of methods such as daily surveys, chatbot mediated data collection, qualitative interviews, and mixed methods. On a larger scale, Phoenix's research employs these methods to help organizations understand the lived experiences of diverse and marginalized individuals working in fast-paced and often stressful work environments. Through a better understanding of hidden and visible diversity, leaders and organizations can better promote a more tolerant, diverse, and inclusive society.