Erica Whitfield

Erica Whitfield has always wanted to make a difference in peoples’ lives, especially the lives of children. In 2014, she ran for a seat on the School Board in order to better serve her community and all the children of Palm Beach County. On November 4, 2014 she was elected to the Palm Beach County School Board for District 4, taking office on November 18, 2014.

Whitfield is a native Floridian with a passion for the community, and the health, achievement, and success of children. She attended the University of Florida where she received a bachelor's degree in Health Science Education. She went on to earn a master's of public health from Emory University.

While working with the Palm Beach County Health Department, she focused on Chronic Disease Education, Air Pollution Prevention, and served as the Executive Director for the Governor’s Council for community Health Partnerships.

Her responsibilities included managing an annual budget of more than $2 million for youth initiatives. Whitfield served as the Project Coordinator for the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Healthy Kids, Healthy Communities Project for the School District of Palm Beach County. In that capacity, she worked to develop 30 community and school gardens, opened the first school-based park in Palm Beach County, and initiated innovative policy changes in the School District and surrounding communities.

As part of this project, she raised and managed more than $1.3 million to support local schools and the community. Before being elected as a Board Member, she worked as a Wellness Coordinator for the District's School Food Service department.

Whitfield has served as President of the Kiwanis Club of Lake Worth, Chair of the City of Lake Worth Recreational Advisory Board, and as Vice Chair of the Palm Beach County Bicycle, Pedestrian, and Greenway Advisory Council. She is a 2014 graduate of Leadership Palm Beach County Non-Profits First Rising Leaders class and Lake Worth Municipal Institute.

Since becoming a School Board member, she has championed public health issues. She worked to implement the first policy requiring Hands-Only CPR be taught to every student before graduation. For the past several years, she has served as the Chair of the United Way’s Childhood Hunger Action Committee – Childhood Subcommittee, and implemented Backpack and Food Pantry programs throughout the District, bringing in many community partners.

She is championing improved academic success at private Early Learning Centers in Lake Worth and Delray Beach through Community Collaborative sponsored by the Early Learning Coalition. She is building connections between the principals and City Commission in Lake Worth through the Education Advisory Board and at City Commission meetings.

She serves on the American Heart Association Palm Beach County Market Board, the Criminal Justice Committee, the Juvenile Justice Advisory Board, Early Childhood Cabinet, and is a member of Leadership Florida.