Erica Lillquist

Director of Learning | The People Concern

“Racial equity and justice are not only important to ending homelessness, but truly the only way we are going to end it. The sector has seen racial equity and justice as an add-on, an activity, a goal, but we must shift to understanding that racial inequity and homelessness are syndemic conditions within our society, that deepen and widen each other."

As the Director of Learning at The People Concern, Erica draws upon her years of direct service experience to support the workforce through learning and equity advocacy. Before assuming her current position, she held leadership roles for four years within The People Concern’s Interim Housing Department, working in both Skid Row and Santa Monica.

Prior to joining The People Concern, Erica was actively engaged in HIV/AIDS public health for six years in Los Angeles and Ethiopia. This included a three-year tenure at the Black AIDS Institute (BAI), the only national think tank that concentrates on the intersection of race and HIV in America. Erica earned her MPA in Public and Nonprofit Administration from the University of Pittsburgh.

Beyond her professional commitments, Erica takes a keen interest in somatic abolition and trauma processing through physical activity. She is also a dedicated weightlifter and surfer.