About Philip

Philip Forgit is a Bronze Star decorated veteran of the Iraq War, serving with a Naval Special Warfare unit as an adviser to the Iraqi Army in 2005-2006. A Naval Reservist, Mr. Forgit was mobilized from his former job as a 4th grade teacher at Rawls Byrd Elementary.
Mr. Forgit is also a nationally recognized teacher, having won the 2005 National Education Association (NEA) Foundation Award for Teaching Excellence, including a $35,000 national prize which was awarded to him live, via satellite, while he served in Iraq. Since his return to the U.S., Mr. Forgit has used the prize money to establish ForgitFilms LLC for the purpose of making a documentary on Iraqi soldiers and their families.

Philip Forgit is a graduate of the College of William and Mary with a B.A. in History ’89 and an M.A. in Elementary Education ’95. He lives in Williamsburg with his wife, Dawn, also a school teacher, and their three children. They attend Grace Covenant Presbyterian Church where Mr. Forgit is a Deacon and Chair of the Mercy Ministry.

Mr. Forgit ran a competitive race for the Virginia 96th District House of Delegates seat in 2003 against incumbent Melanie Rapp. Active in Peninsula campaigns, he is a member of the First Congressional District Democratic Committee and the James City County Democratic Party.