Teach For America recently announced Steve Erickson as the next executive director of its Phoenix region where he will oversee operations.

Teach For America has been a community partner in Phoenix since 1994, according to a press release, detailing how Erickson will lead approximately 120 Teach For America corp members who serve more than 9,000 students in local public schools.

Erickson will also work to continue efforts with more than 1,000 alumni to help expand educational opportunities for students and families, consisting of previous corps members of the program, who call Phoenix home, including more than 100 school, district, and community leaders  lendind their experiences across several sectors, the release said.

He has served in various roles within the Phoenix region since his introduction to Teach For America as a Phoenix corps member.

“In 2005, I met an eager class of fourth graders as a teacher at Quentin Elementary School. This would begin a transformational journey that laid the foundation to my next 16 years in education and with TFA,” said Erickson in the release.

“I’m honored to link arms with Teach For America’s corps members, alumni, partners and the families we work alongside in my home state of Arizona to lead Teach For America into its next chapter. I believe deep, meaningful partnerships will be what drives Teach For America’s effort to deepen its impact across the communities we serve.”

Following his time in the classroom, Erickson joined TFA’s national recruitment team where he was responsible for doubling the number of candidates joining TFA from the University of Arizona and Arizona State University.

In 2009, Erickson joined TFA’s Phoenix regional staff where he has led in multiple capacities including fundraising, public and government affairs, partnerships, and alumni strategy.

“We are thrilled to have Steve lead Teach For America Phoenix into its next era of impact for our community,” said Barbara Ryan Thompson, executive vice president and chief operations officer of the Helios Education Foundation and Board Chair of Teach For America Phoenix, in the release.

“As Teach For America embarks on its ambitious 2030 goal of doubling its impact on students in the communities it serves, we are confident in Steve’s ability to lead the Phoenix region in this new direction.”

Erickson has a master’s in business administration from Arizona State University and a bachelors in entrepreneurship and economics from the University of Arizona. He and his wife, Vanessa – a fellow Teach For America alumnus – live in central Phoenix with their four children.

Teach For America partners with 350 urban and rural communities across the country to expand educational opportunity for children. Founded in 1990, Teach For America recruits and develops a diverse corps of leaders who make an initial two-year commitment to teach in high-need schools and become lifelong leaders in the effort to end educational inequity.

Today, Teach For America is a force of 66,000 alumni and corps members working in more than 9,000 schools nationwide in pursuit of profound systemic change, from classrooms to districts and state houses across America,while reimagining education for “the day when every child has an equal opportunity to learn, lead, thrive, and co-create a future filled with possibility,” added the release.

Teach For America is a member of the AmeriCorps national service network.

For more information: teachforamerica.org