Erika Katske (she, her, hers)

Training Coordinator, Institute for Social Transformation

ekatske@ucsc.edu

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In her work at the Institute, Erika assists faculty and student researchers, as well as staff from partnering community organizations, who are interested in community-engaged research, particularly projects that have an eye towards power-building and making systems or policy change. She helps make connections between theory and practice, builds mutually beneficial partnerships between academics and community stakeholders, and supports interdisciplinary conversations and collaborations. Erika has a wide range of skills in community organizing, nonprofit management, fundraising, leadership and staff development, training/curriculum development and delivery, power analysis, public policy campaigning, and general coaching and cheerleading. Erika believes that social change work requires translation and relationship-building at many levels, and she sees herself as a sort of ambassador between the worlds and languages of different academic disciplines, communities, and sectors – all of whom are necessary partners in building and maintaining healthy and responsive societal systems.

Much of Erika’s work has been to translate the tenets and vision of Solidarity Economics into local and statewide policy priorities, organizing tools, power analyses, and campaign strategies. As part of the CEMI and SIEDI teams, Erika has created and delivered various community-focused, equity-centered economic development trainings to a network of more than 50 nonprofits statewide. Those trainings have focused on data justice, nonprofit fundraising (especially learning how to access public funds), policy advocacy, organizing, and power-building. In addition, she has provided 1-1 support on a variety of economic justice issues to community organizations in seven of the California Jobs First regions. 

For more than 25 years, Erika has organized in faith, labor, LGBT, and public school communities on justice issues that impact urban families: healthcare, education, violence, immigration policy, affordable housing, and access to economic opportunity. She began working as a student labor organizer during college and then spent several years in New York City organizing with Citizen Action of New York. In 2004, she joined the PICO National Network (now Faith in Action). As a lead organizer and then Executive Director of PICO’s San Francisco affiliate, Erika led violence prevention and education campaigns, worked alongside clergy leaders to negotiate a historic community benefits agreement, and helped expand organizing to synagogues throughout the country. Erika has a B.A. in Sociology from Smith College, an M.A. in Spirituality and Social Transformation from the Pacific School of Religion, and a Ph.D. in Theology and Ethics with a concentration in the History of Economic Thought from the Graduate Theological Union at UC Berkeley.