Erika Halstead

Chief Executive Officer

Minds Matter

Erika Halstead is the Chief Executive Officer of Minds Matter, a national organization that supports students from low-income communities to get into college, thrive on campus, and launch into meaningful careers. Before stepping into her national role, she spent nine years as Executive Director of Minds Matter NYC, where she expanded student enrollment, programming, and organizational capacity. Earlier in her career, Erika worked as a bilingual elementary school teacher, university lecturer in English literature, and senior program officer at Humanities New York. She holds a BA from the University of Texas at Austin and an EdM from Teachers College, Columbia University. A lifelong reader, Erika is passionate about expanding access to education and creating spaces where young people can see themselves reflected in the stories that shape them.