Dr. Erika earned both her Bachelor of Science focused on Human Environmental Sciences and her Master of Education focused on Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis at the University of Missouri's flagship institution in Columbia, Missouri. A few years later she completed her doctoral work in adult education theory at Lindenwood University in St. Charles, Missouri. She spent the early part of her career working with academic institutions and nonprofit organizations in the St. Louis area, designing leadership and professional development curriculum, guiding large departments, and coaching strategic planning efforts for a variety of stakeholders. While in St. Louis, she was fortunate enough to lead a variety of high-performing teams through large-scale initiatives. But the mountains called, and she relocated to Fort Collins, Colorado with her young family at the close of 2016. This move propelled her to fully engage in the consulting and contract work she had grown to love.
For more than a decade working in the consulting space, Dr. Erika has provided support for small teams with big dreams and Fortune 100 companies striving to beat competitors to the next level of performance. Additionally, she has supported non-profit organizations through large-scale initiatives and pilot programs and coached university administrators during times of tight budgets and ever-changing student needs. To further this work, she founded Strategically Authentic, a consulting company dedicated to helping people leverage who they are to get where they want to be. She proudly serves as the company's CEO (Chief Encouragement Officer), embracing her roots as a competitive cheerleader and collegiate cheerleading coach to the benefit of everyone she encounters. She takes this same approach as an adjunct faculty member at the University of Missouri, teaching in both the Trulaske College of Business and the College of Education and Human Development. Dr. Erika is known by clients, colleagues, and students as the one who believes in even the most ambitious possibilities as long as there is a plan rooted in authenticity ... and she is always ready to celebrate your successes along the way!