Erica brings more than 13 years of experience from the advocacy field with an emphasis on working in communities most impacted by mass incarceration. Most recently, she worked at the Texas Association Against Sexual Assault (TAASA) managing the Incarcerated Survivor Advocacy Program. There she provided support and advocacy to incarcerated survivors, as well as training and technical assistance to correctional facilities and victim advocates on providing trauma-informed emotional support services to incarcerated survivors of sexual assault. In addition, Erica was responsible for monitoring the implementation of and compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act in county, state, and federal facilities.
Prior to joining TAASA, Erica served as the executive director of the Prison Justice League, a non-profit focused on improving conditions of confinement in correctional facilities. She supported impact litigation and administrative advocacy efforts to ensure confinement settings are free from sexual violence. Erica was previously a senior policy analyst with the Texas Criminal Justice Coalition where she advocated for just and humane criminal legal system reforms. She also worked at the Texas Civil Rights Project investigating claims of civil rights violations in county, state, and federal facilities.
Erica has an extensive background in community and labor organizing, and believes in building power in communities to power social change. She has worked on local, state, and national public policy campaigns to improve our response to community violence and systemic oppression. Erica has appeared on NPR programs Here & Now and Latino USA. She is a Certified Victim Advocate and a Certified Offender Workplace Development Specialist. She holds a BA in Writing & Rhetoric from St. Edward’s University.