Erica Steed is a systems-level healthcare leader and fierce patient advocate whose work is deeply shaped by lived experience. Before stepping into advocacy-centered leadership, she worked in hospital Information Technology, giving her early insight into how systems are built—and where they fail patients. A near-death childbirth experience became a defining moment that sharpened her commitment to advancing safer, more equitable maternal care. As a Black woman who survived a life-threatening maternal crisis, Erica understands firsthand the disparities within maternal health and works to improve outcomes for Black and Brown mothers.

In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, Erica became a first-generation SibShop Facilitator, supporting siblings of individuals with special needs, and founded the nonprofit Many Mini Milestones, Inc., a human and family social services organization that expands community advocacy and support where she lives. 

Her advocacy is also personal as the mother of a son with autism and epilepsy. Navigating complex and fragmented systems of care strengthened her resolve to champion individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, ensuring families are heard, respected, and supported across healthcare environments.

With more than two decades in healthcare, Erica integrates systems thinking, performance excellence, and human-centered design to operationalize patient- and family-centered care across complex organizations. She is particularly passionate about advancing outcomes for three vulnerable communities: individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities, Black and Brown birthing mothers, and geriatric populations.

A U.S. Army Veteran, MBA-prepared executive, and national thought leader in patient experience and performance excellence, Erica’s leadership is grounded in one unwavering belief: healthcare systems must be designed not just for efficiency, but for dignity, equity, and survival.