In her role as Operations Associate, Erika supports foundation-wide operations by overseeing Steans Family Foundation’s accounts payable process, working in close collaboration with accounting consultants, and recordkeeping; along with supporting the Foundation’s staff and Trustees through effectively scheduling and executing other operational tasks.
Prior to joining the Steans Family Foundation, Erika served as the Director of Leadership Programs at Leadership Greater Chicago, a non-profit that brings together the region’s most promising leaders, enhancing capabilities across the private, non-profit, and public sectors to create transformative civic change in Greater Chicago. There she oversaw program development and execution for a monthly virtual leadership seminar series and a 10-month civic leadership development fellowship program.
Previously, Erika spent 10 years working for Northwestern University where she held positions as an Associate Director at the Kellogg School of Management and an Associate Research Administrator at the Feinberg School of Medicine. In these roles, Erika managed financial operations, led strategic planning efforts, supervised staff, administered federal grant activities, and implemented organizational improvements. She also served as a board member of four employee resource groups during her tenure at Northwestern.
Erika holds a Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Management with a focus in Healthcare Administration from Roosevelt University. She enjoys singing and has recorded several songs, as well as collaborated in performances with her former work colleagues. Erika lives in the northwest suburbs of Chicago with her husband Ross and sweet rescue dog Leonard.