ERICA MERRITT, MA, CDP ®, BCC 

Founder & President

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Erica Merritt (she/her/hers) is the vibrant compass of Equius. She leads Equius  and creates the conditions for her team and clients to thrive. She expertly  balances a blend of challenge and support with her clients and team. Erica  pushes clients to have the tough conversations that are essential to reaching  their desired outcome, bringing in all perspectives, believing we are better  together and that the sum of us creates something magnificent.  
 

Her passion for co-creating a world in which all humans flourish is rivaled only by her  love of all thing science fiction. One of Erica’s favorite quotes is from the poet Lucille  Clifton, “we can’t create what we cannot imagine.” She believes unwaveringly that  imagination is one of our most powerful tools for transforming ourselves,  organizations, and even the world. 

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A Gestalt-trained leader, Erica Merritt has extensive experience leveraging  organizational development practices to drive change, designing, and facilitating leadership programs and applying an equity lens to create workplaces and  communities that work for everyone. By skillfully creating brave spaces to explore  challenging topics and have difficult conversations, Erica helps groups build  trusting relationships and achieve powerful breakthroughs. As a sought-after  consultant, speaker, and coach, she builds the capacity of leaders to grow  personally, develop professionally and transform organizations. 

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Erica holds a Bachelor of the Arts Degree in Public Relations from Ursuline  College and a Master of the Arts Degree in Psychology with a certification in  Diversity Management (NTL) from Cleveland State University. She also holds  coaching certifications from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland and the Center for  Credentialing Education. Before launching Equius Group, Erica served in  leadership roles in the non-profit and higher education sectors. 

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As an active Board member for the Cleveland international Film Festival and the Women of Color Foundation, she’s a driving force for change. As a cornerstone of  her impact, she co-founded of Black Women Werk a sanctuary and social network for  Black Women in Northeast Ohio that provides small grants for entrepreneurs and  hosts “10 Dope Black Women You Should Know.”