Erika joins the USC Price team as Associate Dean for Advancement & Chief Development Officer. She brings over twenty years of philanthropic fundraising and operations experience from highly reputable higher education, healthcare, and policy organizations across Southern California, including Pomona College, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, and UC Irvine Health. Most recently, Erika served as Senior Managing Director, Major Gifts West at Sierra Club, with a goal of not only raising funds to help address the urgency of the climate crisis but also to provide avenues for clean and healthy communities for all.
Over the course of her career, Erika has personally helped raise over $40 million in outright and deferred gifts for deserving students, medical and academic research, capital projects, as well as community and student support programs. And she contributed to multiple successful campaigns that collectively raised more than $1 billion dollars in direct financial support for the institutions she served. She was an active board member and executive committee member of the Association of Donor Relations Professionals and a board member and continuing supporter of Shoes That Fit, a nonprofit dedicated to providing new athletic shoes to children in need so they may attend school with dignity and joy, prepared to learn, play, and thrive.
Erika was recently appointed Cultural Arts Commissioner in her hometown of Brea, helping to identify the cultural needs and interests of the community and recommending various ways to broaden public participation in the arts. In this role, she serves as liaison to the local Theatre Committee as well as the Civic & Cultural Events Committee. Erika is a proud alumna of Pomona College (Claremont, CA), crediting her ability to attend college to the need-blind admissions and financial aid resources that were offered to her. While working full-time, she earned her MBA in leadership and strategy from Claremont Graduate University with honors. She completed her Certified Fund Raising Executive designation in 2016.
Erika lives in Brea with her caring and talented husband Frank and their high-energy, often vocal terrier mix Maggie.