Erika Dudley

Erika Dudley is the President of the Board of Directors for Urban Growers Collective. She is with the Civic Leadership in the Office of Civic Engagement at the University of Chicago. A historian, artist, community organizer, and chef, her particular interest is the intersection of humanities, access, and food. Her academic focus is French History and Italian.

In addition to serving as President of the Board of Urban Growers Collective, she is a member of the Healthy Chicago 2025 Food Access Work Group, a member of the Chicago Food Policy Council, a trainer for Dismantling Racism in the Food Systems, and a board member of the Sunflower Project nonprofit. She also serves on the Faculty Advisory Board of the University Medical Center’s Comprehensive Care, Community, and Culture Program. She is the architect of the Museum Educators Program, a paid engagement program for Odyssey Project graduates and University of Chicago undergraduates at the university’s Smart Museum of Art begun in 2014.

She served as the 2015-2016 Interpreter in Residence at the Smart Museum with a focus on equity in the arts. She is a member of the museum’s education committee. Erika has also served on the Hyde Park Art Center’s Board of Directors since 2011 and is currently its Vice Chair. Additionally, she chairs: Education Committee, Public Programs Committee, and Community Accountability Committee. She serves as a co-chair of the Development Committee and Anti-Racism/Equity Committee. She has been a reviewer of the Center Program for the last four years.

She is a board member of the Chicago Art Department, chair of its Development Committee, and a reviewer of its CORE Residency. She serves on the Engagement Committee of Experimental Station. Erika was educated at Harvard University (French History) and Le Cordon Bleu Paris.