
For over 20 years, Erica has led teams, designed and implemented large-scale professional development programs, and supported leaders as they step into increased responsibility and impact. She worked her way up the ranks as a Coast Guard officer, where she created service-wide leadership development curricula. Determined to create a culture of inclusion, Erica co-founded the Women’s Leadership Initiative, a national nonprofit centered on increasing the retention of women in the Coast Guard through policy change, mentoring, and professional development. As the Executive Director of the Sasamani Foundation, Erica built education, employment, and empowerment programs to stop the cycle of poverty in Tanzania. She recently partnered with the University of Dar es Salaam to build a 4-month Women Leading Change curriculum for East African women.
Drawn to the pLink Leadership® team’s client-centric approach that creates deep and meaningful shifts, Erica now channels her achievements, leadership experience, and education in positive psychology and adult learning to help senior leaders push the edge of their game. Her direct communication and tailored support empower individual agency. Erica’s coaching focuses on mobilizing the highest impact, lowest hassle path toward sustainable change.
Erica earned her Professional Certified Coach designation from the International Coaching Federation. She holds master’s degrees in Applied Positive Psychology from the University of Pennsylvania and in Education from San Diego State, and a B.S. in Management from the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. Erica is a Certified Dare to Lead™ Facilitator and holds certifications in the Leadership Circle Profile™ 360 assessment tool, the iPEC Energy Leadership Assessment, the Leadership Challenge, and the DISC behavioral assessment. Her work has been recognized by the Connecticut Women’s Hall of Fame, the Southeastern Connecticut Chamber of Commerce, the Coast Guard Academy Alumni Association, the Coast Guard Innovation Council, and the International Society for Performance Improvement.
When she’s not working, Erica is happiest dancing it out with friends or her niece and nephews, experiencing awe through nature, celebrating other’s triumphs, adding to her human pyramid photo collection, and experiencing shavasana.