Last year marked Erica Terrell’s third decade of working at Harlem Children’s Zone (HCZ). Funny that her career at the organization started by accident.
“I never expected to be at HCZ quite this long,” Erica jokes. “When I started, I had no idea this was going to be my life’s work.”
At the time, in 1994, Erica was looking for work when a friend told her about HCZ. She applied for and landed a job as a childcare worker in one of the organization’s after-school programs. What started as a part-time stint turned into a 30-year career of empowering scholars, uplifting families, and transforming communities.
What made Erica stick around?
“It’s the mission,” she recalls. “I saw the difference we were making for children and families. It became my why.”
Today, Erica continues to impact communities nationally and globally. As Managing Director of HCZ’s Practitioners Institute (PI), she helps organizations across the world implement HCZ’s nationally recognized model that serves young people from cradle to career.
From roles as a Supervisor and Director of Peacemakers, to instructor for The Baby College and Three-Year-Old Journey, to Director of Harlem Gems, Erica has embodied HCZ’s core value of servant leadership — the unrelenting pursuit of excellence for our children, families, and community.
Keep reading to follow Erica’s journey!
Growing with the Mission
Erica’s career has grown as HCZ has grown. After her first job with the organization, Erica became a Peacemaker — what HCZ called the hundreds of AmeriCorps members trained to serve in Harlem’s public elementary schools. In her role, she tutored scholars, taught conflict resolution, and connected families to critical resources. It was hands-on, heart-first work.
“Being a Peacemaker was life-changing,” Erica says. “It taught me what it means to lead by serving others. From day one, HCZ was developing us as leaders.”
From there, Erica moved into roles across HCZ’s early childhood pipeline, from The Baby College to Harlem Gems. She watched as HCZ expanded from 24 blocks to 60 blocks and ultimately to 97 blocks. She saw HCZ Promise Academy I and II — HCZ’s top-performing charter schools — go up in 2004 and 2005.
“To know I was part of that foundation, it’s something I’ll always be proud of,” she says.
Scaling HCZ’s Impact
Now, as Managing Director of PI, she leads HCZ’s efforts to bring its comprehensive, place-based solutions to communities around the world.
PI has provided pivotal guidance to more than 600 organizations across 280 U.S. cities — and over 200 international delegations from 80-plus countries.
“PI is about sharing what we’ve learned,” Erica explains. “But it’s also about listening. It’s about working with communities to co-create solutions that reflect their own histories, strengths, and needs.”
‘HCZ pours into our scholars — and it pours into us’
What’s kept Erica at HCZ for 30 years isn’t just the mission — it’s the investment in talent. From day one, the organization has helped her grow both professionally and personally. She’s benefited from leadership training, coursework at Columbia Business School, wellness programs, nutrition education through Healthy Harlem, and mental health resources priovided by HCZ.
“HCZ pours into our scholars — and it pours into us,” says Erica, who earned a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Medgar Evers College and a master’s in organizational leadership from Mercy University.
She credits mentors like the late Rasuli Lewis — a legendary HCZ figure, and Founder of Peacemakers and the Children’s March for Peace — and Caressa Singleton, a senior leader at HCZ, for helping her grow into the leader she is today.
Her own children also went through HCZ’s programs — from Harlem Gems and A Cut Above to Academy of Arts and Civic Engagement and the HCZ Track Team.
“As a parent, it means everything to have your kids in a place you believe in and helped build,” she says.
Erica’s Advice to New Staff: ‘Go Slow to Go Fast’
If you’re just starting out at HCZ, Erica offers this advice: “Take your time. Learn the culture. Talk to people. Make connections.”
“You don’t have to come in and change everything on day one,” she says. “Like we always say at HCZ, ‘Go slow to go fast.’”
These days, Erica is still growing and still changing lives. Her greatest joy comes from seeing her work come full circle. Scholars she once worked with are now grown up with college degrees, careers, and children of their own. Many of them are now in HCZ’s programs.
“Seeing them thrive is what makes it all worth it,” she says. “This isn’t fast work, but the impact is generational.”