Erica Pope Bio
Erica is a multi-disciplined Licensed Social Worker, Mental Health advocate, and Human Resource manager with exceptional leadership experience. She is a first-generation college graduate with a bachelor’s degree from Auburn University; followed by a master’s in human resource leadership from Capella University. Erica’s career roadmap includes investigating child welfare cases at Gwinnett and Fulton County Department of family and children services; creating partnerships and commissioning corporate dollars through non-profits to address social determinants of health at Wellcare Health Plans. Erica has frequently been invited as a keynote speaker to discuss social fundamentals of health at the National Association of Social Workers, Mercer University School of Medicine Rural Innovation Center Maternal Health Symposiums.
Erica’s passion for addressing societal issues and advocating for others is deeply rooted in her relationship with her late father J.R. Ewing. As a small child they would talk about the importance of voting; and as a young adult they would sit together in line on election day to cast their vote after sharing coffee and egg McMuffins from McDonald’s to “feel the excitement in the air.” Her decision to run for office was not hard to make at all once recruited by the Georgia Democratic party. As a survivor of perinatal mood anxiety and depression (PMADS) and Post partum depression; it has been Erica’s passion to create policy to address black maternal health disparities in the state of Georgia. She has worked alongside the Atlanta Health Start consortium that included several notable community partners such as Morehouse School of Medicine and The Center for Black Women Wellness, and Healthy Mothers Healthy Babies Coalition of GA. These meaningful partnerships led to advocacy work for increasing positive health outcomes for African American pregnant women in Atlanta. This research and exertion led to Erica’s first co-authorship and contribution to the academic Journal for the Health Care for the Poor and Underserved Academic titled Yes, We C.A.N.! A Community Engaged Approach to Addressing Maternal Mental Health among Black Women in Atlanta, GA. Improving Health Outcomes by Addressing Social Determinacies of Health (2017-2018).
Erica’s decision to run for Dacula City Council reflects her beliefs and grassroots activism of issues being discussed on the local level. Erica’s platform has a three-prong effect: Budget Transparency, Transformative Leadership for a Better Quality of Life, and community engagement. Erica’s experience as a Community Engagement connector will allow her to utilize her skill of relationship building to bring the citizens of Dacula to the table to discuss innovative ways to address concerns and advocate on their behalf.
Erica has lived in Dacula, Ga since 2016 with her Husband Gabriel and their daughters Erilyn and Eriane; both students of Dacula Elementary. Where Erica serves on the PTA, as troop leader for her daughters Girl Scouts troop, and yearly as room mom! You can find her at all events and cheering on all the students loudly on field day.
