A native of Southern California, Erin’s commitment to fighting for social justice began in the aftermath of the LA riots. She attended Harvard University, where she graduated with a BA in Government (magna cum laude) and a Special Citation in Spanish. At Harvard, she taught Civics to middle school students in low-income areas through the Philips Brooks House Association. This experience underscored the importance of education in expanding opportunity and ignited within her a passion for tutoring and mentoring. Moving to North Carolina to attend law school at The University of North Carolina, the oldest public university in the United States, was a seminal decision that would change the course of her life.
During law school, Erin redoubled her commitment to fight for social justice and sought opportunities to serve as an advocate. She served more than 300 pro bono hours working with the California Innocence Project, the North Carolina Center on Actual Innocence, the ACLU Capital Punishment Project, and the Center for Death Penalty Litigation. She interned for the District Attorney’s office, externed for the North Carolina Department of Justice, and volunteered her time as a Guardian ad Litem (serving abused and neglected children by advocating for their best interests in court).
After graduating from law school, Erin worked as an attorney in Southern California and as the Director of Public Affairs for AT&T in Sacramento. Her work as an attorney included cases dealing with school choice and disability law issues. She submitted an amicus curiae brief to the California Supreme Court on behalf of a Rocketship Education, a network of nine public charter schools providing high-quality education to nearly 5,000 primarily low-income English language learner students from Transitional Kindergarten through Fifth Grade.
In January 2016, Erin started her own solo law firm called Pursuit of Justice, focused on pursuing criminal justice reform and advocating on behalf of low-income incarcerated individuals. In this capacity, she has served numerous incarcerated clients requiring assistance with post-conviction appeals, habeas corpus petitions, Franklin motions, Commutation applications, and resentencing petitions.
In her work as an attorney with Pursuit of Justice, Erin has advocated on behalf of numerous clients who suffered tremendous childhood trauma and severely lacked resources (educational, emotional and financial) during their formative years. Most of these clients were raised within cycles of generational incarceration and were introduced to criminal behavior at an early age. These unfortunate circumstances, coupled with a lack of guidance and opportunity, led them to join gangs and engage in criminal behavior – which perpetuated the cycle of generational incarceration.
Erin and her family moved to Wilmington, NC in September 2019. Her work as a criminal defense and appellate attorney inspired her to found Project Pathfinder in January 2026. Project Pathfinder provides tutoring services and mentoring support to juvenile offenders in helping them gain access to higher education. The nonprofit’s mission is to support these students in finding their own paths, breaking the cycle of generational incarceration and helping them to become leaders and contributing members of society.
Erin is also excited to serve as an Adjunct Professor of Law at The University of North Carolina Law School, where she will teach a criminal justice law seminar in the Fall.