Erika Brown, MA, Communication & Marketing Strategist

Erika Brown is a seasoned communication and marketing strategist. She joined Louisville Water Company in January 2020 and is responsible for developing and overseeing the company's marketing, media, digital, and brand strategy. In her role, Erika serves more than one million people through her continuous work to modernize and improve the customer experience. Most recently, her team won two 2022 PRSA Landmarks of Excellence awards for Public Service Communication and Video Shorts.

Prior to her time in Louisville, Erika spent over a decade in Washington, D.C. and San Francisco, leading communication campaigns for creative agencies, national non-profits, and federal government agencies. Erika identifies ways to innovate, champion inclusion, and achieve measurable results. While at the National Park Service, Erika received an Achieving Relevance through Interpretive Media and Technology award, and while at Peace Corps, received the Director's Distinguished Service award.

Erika holds a Master of Arts in Communication from Johns Hopkins University and a Bachelor of Arts in Spanish and Public Relations from Western Kentucky University. She currently sits on the Board of WaterStep and IDEAS xLAB and is a Leadership Louisville Bingham Fellow.

International travel experience:

• Professional – Guyana, Malawi, South Africa

• Personal – Costa Rica, Cyprus, Dominican Republic, El Salvador, Germany, Holland, Honduras, Ireland, Mexico, Nicaragua, Panama, Peru, Spain

Language proficiency:

• Intermediate Spanish (oral)

Career Highlights:

Advanced degrees:

• (2016) Johns Hopkins University, Master of Arts in Communication Focus Area: Digital Communication

Awards:

• (2022): PRSA Bluegrass Landmarks of Excellence – Public Service Communication

• (2022): PRSA Bluegrass Landmarks of Excellence – Video Shorts

• (2018): National Park Service – Achieving Relevance through Interpretive Media and Technology

• (2015): Peace Corps – Director’s Distinguished Service Award

Highlights:

• (2019): Launched Louisville’s first Startup Week. The event included 6 ‘hot topic’ tracks, 36 sessions, and over 350 registrants. Lead DEI Track. Moderated the panel: The State of Women in Entrepreneurship.

• (2019): Coordinated the launch of a Louisville area Veteran-focused resource group.

• (2018): Programmed “Breaking the Barriers of Unconscious Bias” panel discussion for San Francisco Women in Wireless. Panelists included; Vice President of Digital Acceleration at Walmart, Senior Product Manager at Survey Monkey, Diversity and Inclusion Manager at Yahoo, and the Global Program Manager of Cultivate Equality at Salesforce.

• (2015): Helped launch Peace Corps’ first Employee Resource Groups.