Erika Hobbs is an award-winning journalist, newsroom leader, strategist, storyteller, and coach based in Chicago. She served as a senior reporter for The Orlando Sentinel, where she was known for her feature stories about Daniel Lazzatti, a homeless student in Central Florida learning to make it on his own. Erika also has worked for The Philadelphia Inquirer, Newsweek, WBBM Newsradio Chicago, and The Center for Public Integrity.

As an independent journalist, Erika has written about tackling breast cancer, healthcare inequities in people of color, undocumented immigrants in the Chicago suburbs, and the power of yoga in combating the aging process. She believes in the power of storytelling to advocate for marginalized communities and to hold community leaders accountable.

In her other work, she helps young journalists navigate the profoundly changing industry, and specializes in helping talented creators become successful business owners who build impactful media ventures. Erika also teaches in the humanities department at Roosevelt University.

Erika knew she would be a journalist since first grade. While other girls her age were pretending to be Barbie (no shame to Barbie), Erika wanted only to be Lois Lane. She is a proud graduate Columbia College and of the Medill School of Journalism.

Read her work at erikahobbs.com, and follow her at linkedin.com.