I am Erik (he/him). I was raised in Indianapolis, Indiana in a blended family and I have called North Carolina home since 2006. I was blessed to meet the woman I would marry after I moved to North Carolina and I got to experience the joys and challenges of being a step-father to her two daughters (In 2022, the younger of the two asked me if I would adopt her and everything was finalized in 2022!). Our family would not grow again until February 14, 2016 when we walked off the final leg of our flight to Uganda where we would find the young boy that God had earmarked to complete our family. I can honestly say, it was during our time in Uganda that we felt closest to God.
“When God is all you have, then you have all you need.” John 19:8
I completed my undergraduate studies at Indiana University-Bloomington (Yes, I am a Hoosier in the Tarheel state) and I earned my Masters in Social Work from Indiana University Purdue University in Indianapolis (IUPUI). I spent the first 5 years of my career working with those with a wide range of different developmental disabilities before transitioning into school social work in 2007. I never had any plans to do this type of work but now that I am doing it, I cannot imagine doing anything else. I have worked at all levels of public education and as I tell the kids and youth that I work with, there is not much I have not heard in all my years.
In my free time, I love to work in the garden and do home renovations (and other projects around the house) with my wife, play soccer and run with my son, wrestle with the dog, watch movies, camp, hike and star gazing.