MEET ERICA
the short version
I am Founder & CEO, EJT Consulting, LLC and currently a Doctoral Candidate in Education Leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Education. I am obsessed with school leadership, equity, and supporting educators in discovering their profitable purpose through launching a consulting business. I do it all while listening to Beyoncé and dreaming about my next trip around the world.
THE WHOLE STORY
I am a Black Buckeye Girl.
I grew up in Columbus, Ohio and a proud graduate of Columbus Public Schools. Going into third grade my parents divorced and I had to change schools. My third grade teacher Ms. Lester stepped up to support my mom, my sister, and me. She was my first example of equity leadership, transformative teaching and leading with relationships. Ms. Lester is the reason I became a teacher.
I went on to graduate from The Ohio State University with a B.S. in Textiles and Clothing.
Ohio Raised Me, North Carolina Made Me.
Right after graduation, I moved to Charlotte, North Carolina to become a high school math teacher. I was a district finalist for 1st year Teacher of the Year. My students showed me my life’s purpose…fighting educational inequity. Together, we affirmed what I already knew to be true, when given the appropriate supports, every student can excel academically.
I went onto become an instructional coach and then joined New Leaders’s Aspiring Principal Program Cohort 11.
I absolutely loved being a principal.
After completing my principal residency, I joined the most beautiful school community as an assistant principal and eventually was promoted to serve as principal. During my time as principal, my school was ranked #2 in the district for their growth in English Language Arts and #3 in the district for their growth in Science.
We were also one of the first schools in the nation to implement an Opportunity Culture, expanding the reach of effective teachers through the use of technology and instructional coaching, while paying them more through new teacher leader positions. I share our journey paying our excellent teachers more within our existing budget in my Tedx Talk.
During my time as principal, I earned my Masters of Education in Instructional School Leadership from Relay Graduate School of Education and launched my consulting business EJT Consulting LLC.
Dr. JT and EJT Consulting Grows
In 2018, I left the principalship and moved to Cambridge, Massachusetts to begin a full-time doctoral program in education leadership at Harvard Graduate School of Education (HGSE).
During my time at HGSE I have:
Been selected as 2019 HGSE Education Entrepreneurship Fellow
Participated in the Venture Incubation Program through Harvard iLab
Served as a facilitator for the Public Education Leadership Program
Selected as a semi-finalist in Harvard Business School’s (HBS) New Venture Competition
Served as a Teaching Fellow for A608: Leadership, Entrepreneurship, and Learning and A302: Equity In Action in School Systems
Since launching my consulting business in 2017, I served over 30 school districts, education organizations and higher education institutions in developing school leaders and deepening their equity work.
My studies and consulting work has confirmed the power of educators working in partnership with organizations and communities to design solutions to complex issues. In an effort to increase the pool of support for school districts and organizations, I have expanded my consulting business to support phenomenal educators in extending their impact through discovering their profitable purpose and launching a consulting business for impact.
