Erika is known as Birdie because she loves the game of golf. She is the owner and founder of Swing Easy Golf™, a small independent business, teaching golf lessons to youth and adults alike. A native Chicagoan, she is currently the Assistant Program Director for an international junior golf organization, First Tee - Greater Chicago. Erika recently joined the teaching pro team as an LPGA Teaching Professional Apprentice at Harborside International Golf Center and East Bank Club in Chicago, IL. Her passion for golf became the lifeline she used to pull herself through financial hardship perpetuated by the real estate recession that began in 2007. Determined to recover from the unforeseen crisis, she attended a women's golf clinic in Frankfort, IL. After several weeks of group lessons, she soon began taking private lessons. She was a fast learner and, just a year and a half later, she landed a part-time position for one of the largest golf management companies in the industry, Billy Casper Golf.As a licensed real estate professional for over 21 years, Birdie continued selling real estate as a means of survival and to support her newfound love for golf. However, the more she played and practiced, the more intrigued she became with the idea of having a ladies' golf league. So, on March 28, 2012, she founded Ladies on the Green.Birdie is a proud member of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., an honorary member of the South Shore Ladies Golf League, and an active board member of the Jackson Park Golf Association. She was previously a member of the Women's Golf Club Columbus Park. Erika is also the co-author of A Purpose Driven Woman: 14 Memoirs on Becoming Fearless & Intentional.Additionally, Erika formally served as the boy's high school golf coach for two local Chicago Public Schools high schools. Her first local high school coaching position in 2013 landed her squad topping the division that year.Erika enjoys working with students of all ages and loves bringing joy to others through the game of golf.