Erica Nelson (she/her) has been working to advance social, racial, environmental and economic justice for over 20 years. Her work includes advancing practice and policy reform in child welfare and youth justice as well as leading efforts to address the systemic and structural drivers that perpetuate and compound racial and economic inequities. She is a visionary, strategist and social entrepreneur whose love language is transformative policy change and who is deeply committed to increasing access to justice for under-resourced individuals, families and communities.

Erica began her career as an attorney at the Center for Family Representation representing parents involved in New York City’s child welfare system. After moving to Wisconsin in 2010, she founded and directed the Race to Equity project, served as Advocacy Director at Kids Forward and is currently Executive Director of LIFT Wisconsin. Nelson is a graduate of UW-Madison and Rutgers Law School.

AREAS OF EXPERTISE: Policy & Advocacy, Nonprofit & Philanthropy