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Erika was born and raised on Chicago's south side.
During her youth, she has witnessed the effects that gang violence, drug abuse and poverty has had on her community.
Growing up with humble beginnings has not only taught her how to adapt to change, but how to overcome adversity.
By society's standards, Erika would likely become an uneducated, unproductive and inefficient citizen. But Erika's
biggest advocate was the strong teachings and examples lead by her grandmother who raised her from the age of three. She was
taught how to respect differences, not dwell on them. By understanding and applying her grandmother's teachings,
Erika has learned how to turn:
Obtacles into opportunities
Predicaments
into possibilities
Trouble into triumphs
Crisis into conquests
Glitches into goals
and Snags into successes
Despite challenging surroundings during her formative years, Erika has
achieved great success. She's the President/CEO of Empowered Partners, Inc., a training company designed to build
self worth in young ladies and women, she's a member of NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners), and is the
author of two books entitled 10 Ways to Prevent Failure and Starting Today.
She is also a co-author of Emotional Wellness for Women Volume 1 , and she is currently writing
her fourth book entitled The Secrets to Being an Unstoppable Woman.
Even with her demanding schedule, Erika still makes a way to donate her time to the community. She
teaches modern, jazz and praise dance to church groups and elementary school students in the Chicagoland
area, and she teaches runway modeling technique to novice and amateur models.
After playing around
with a tape recorder pretending to have a radio show, she playfully let a friend listen to it for fun. Without her knowledge,
he submitted it to a local radio station manager and Erika was encouraged to take classes in Broadcasting. Soon after, she
was live on the air engineering and hosting her own jazz formatted radio show where her radio name was Erika Leigh.
Often times Erika is asked how she got into the speaking industry. After winning 1st place in her sixth grade speech
contest, she caught the speaking bug. Since then, she has won 1st place in every speech contest she entered. "Voicing
my thoughts has always come naturally for me and in many cases, got me into trouble with my teachers. I was the student
who got into trouble for talking to much; now I get paid for it!"
After being approached by many people for advice throughout the years,
Erika decided to develop an uplifting and empowering life coaching practice. Her ability to remain objective, stay focused
on positive results, and be an active listener has lead her clients to start businesses, rebuild unhealthy relationships
and discover their life's purpose(s).
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