Erica currently serves as Counsel for the Open Society Foundations. She advises on legal issues related to grantmaking, operations, corporate governance, and tax-exempt organization regulations. Previously, she served as Associate General Counsel for the Obama Foundation, civil rights attorney for the U.S. Department of Education Office for Civil Rights, and in-house counsel for higher education institutions.

Erica is a proud fourth-generation Washingtonian and is excited to bring her nonprofit legal experience and passion for Amara’s mission to support the organization’s growth. She previously served as a member of the Board of Directors for Partnerships for Trauma Recovery, an Oakland-based nonprofit organization that provides holistic care and mental health services to survivors of international human rights abuses. She is also a member of numerous arts and cultural organizations, including the National Museum of African American History and Culture and Spelman College Museum of Fine Art.

Erica earned her B.A. from Spelman College, Master of Public Policy from Harvard Kennedy School, and J.D. from American University, where she was awarded an Equal Justice Works Fellowship and NAACP Legal Defense Fund (LDF) Earl Warren Civil Rights Training Scholarship.