Former professional ballerina. Current arts & culture leader. Rooted in DEI.

Hello! I’m Erica Lynette Edwards and I was a ballerina with The Joffrey Ballet where I performed lead roles throughout a 15-year career, dancing in hundreds of performances in the United States and abroad. During that time Ebony Magazine declared me a “Young Leader in the Future of the Arts” and the Chicago Tribune gave me the title "Black History Maker." When I retired from the stage, I became Joffrey's Director of Community Engagement. Under my leadership, the department grew to support thousands of Chicago students each year through a focus on community partnerships rooted in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI). Because of my visionary leadership in this role, Crain's Chicago named me a member of their exceptional "40 Under 40." In 2020 I independently expanded my DEI services to captivate a wide variety of clients with authentic and innovative programming. In 2023 I had the honor of becoming Giordano Dance Chicago’s Executive Director.

TRUSTED BY

TESTIMONIALS

“Erica is a natural and effortless leader whose empathy, confidence, and experience creates an environment of trust and collaboration.”

“Erica is an extremely passionate and determined leader with a razor-sharp focus on high-quality work and outcomes. Never satisfied with the status quo, she consistently strives to take her work to the next level and will do whatever it takes to get the job done with dedication, attention to detail, and optimism.”

“Erica is an engaging storyteller, and as a result has strengthened current partnerships while at the same time creating new opportunities for growth and expansion – all done with an authentic commitment to community. In her leadership role, she embraced strategy and change – not just change for the sake of change but change for the better – change for impact.”

“Erica approaches every project —no matter how small — with a high degree of detail and care, yielding exceptional results that reflect her thoughtful style.”