Network Director
Youth Organize! California
Erika is a first-generation Colombian artist, educator, and organizer working at the intersections of popular education, youth organizing, and arts, culture, and storytelling. As the Network Director for Youth Organize! California, Erika helps lead power-building strategies for a statewide network of grassroots organizations committed to practicing transformative youth organizing with Black, Indigenous, undocumented, systems-impacted, and LGBTIA+ membership. Her statewide work is rooted in the belief that defunding the pol(ice) is a critical step towards abolishing prisons and investing directly in community-led priorities. Prior to YO! Cali, Erika worked at Youth Leadership Institute (YLI), centering youth-led action research and community organizing to drive policy change on racial, social, and environmental justice issues. Erika holds a master’s degree in Ethnic Studies. In 2016, she joined the College of Ethnic Studies at San Francisco State University as an adjunct faculty lecturer.