Erika Carlsen

Erika Carlsen seeks to inspire joy, compassion, and connection with the people and communities she’s privileged to work alongside. In her role at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, she is passionate about building a culture and operations framework to advance trust-based philanthropy as an essential strategy across the field.

Erika’s career spans the intersection of leadership development, culture-building, and civic engagement. Previously, she served as Deputy Chief of Staff at the National Trust for Local News, one of the nation’s largest independent newspaper organizations. She was also the Managing Director of Civic Leadership at Coro Northern California. At the Harvard Kennedy School, she oversaw multiple leadership development fellowships, and her early career included key roles at the Rockwood Leadership Institute.

She currently serves on the Board of Directors for the Vesper Society, a private operating foundation, and is actively involved in local organizations in Salt Lake City, including Spy Hop, a youth media nonprofit, and the Ballpark Action Team, a neighborhood group dedicated to building collective local power.

Born and raised in Utah, Erika graduated from the University of San Francisco with a BA in Politics and holds a Master of Divinity from Harvard Divinity School, with a focus on meditation, mindfulness, and leadership. She is an alumna of both the Coro Fellows Program and the Institute for International Public Policy Program.

Erika lives in Salt Lake City, on the ancestral land of the Goshute people. In her free time, Erika enjoys staying civically engaged, reading, deepening her meditation practice in nature, playing Scrabble, and spending time with family and friends.