Erica Jones | Speaker, Leader & Community Builder
Erica Jones is a speaker, nonprofit leader, and community builder who challenges audiences to lead with authenticity, think beyond the immediate, and turn compassion into lasting impact.
Raised in Zimbabwe, Erica brings a perspective shaped by life across cultures, entrepreneurship, motherhood, and adversity. Her experiences—from founding Sunshine Spaces, a nonprofit serving children and families, to helping feed hundreds of children daily during a mission in Zimbabwe—have shaped her belief that leadership begins with seeing people and recognizing what is possible when communities come together.
As Executive Director of the Carteret Education Foundation in North Carolina, Erica connects educators, donors, and community partners to strengthen public education. Her work centers on removing barriers to learning, investing in educators, and building sustainable support for future generations.
Through storytelling, humor, and practical insight, Erica speaks on authentic and sustainable leadership, resilience, strategic planning, the power of investing in public education, and preserving our humanity in an increasingly AI-driven world. Whether sharing the unexpected leadership lessons of an orphaned zebra or exploring the African philosophy of Ubuntu—“I am because we are”—she invites audiences to examine who they are, how they lead, and the impact they want to leave behind.
Her message is simple: the most meaningful leadership grows from knowing who you are, valuing others, and having the courage to act.
Speaking Topics
Sustainable Leadership: Building What Lasts
Leadership reaches beyond what we accomplish today. What will continue because we were here? Erica explores how to move beyond responding to immediate needs and build people, partnerships, and systems that can carry the work forward.
Public Education: Our Most Important Investment
Our schools shape the people who will shape our communities. Erica makes a compelling case for investing in public education—and shows how businesses, community leaders, and individuals can help strengthen schools, support educators, and expand opportunity.
Strategic Planning: Turning Vision into Action
A good idea needs a clear path forward. Drawing on her experience founding and leading nonprofits, Erica explores how to establish priorities, bring people around a shared purpose, and turn ambitious goals into practical plans with ownership and accountability.
Authentic Leadership in an AI World
As technology changes how we work and communicate, how do we preserve what makes us worth following? Through personal stories and practical examples, Erica explores using AI while keeping our voice, judgment, integrity, and humanity.
Leading Change: The Courage to Question What Is
“Because we’ve always done it this way” can keep an organization from becoming what it needs to be. Erica speaks about challenging assumptions, navigating resistance, and bringing people with you as you build a stronger future.
Ubuntu: Success We Build Together
“I am because we are.” Drawing on her Zimbabwean roots, Erica explores leadership through shared responsibility, human connection, and the belief that our success is tied to what we make possible for others.
From Generosity to Lasting Impact
How do we turn people’s desire to help into something that lasts? Erica explores meaningful partnerships, community ownership, and sustainable investment that allows a mission to grow beyond its next fundraiser.
Women In Business Conference
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