Finding Purpose:
Archer Alumna Helps Shape Social Movements Turn on the TV, read the news on your iPad, or listen to podcasts and on any given day you’ll hear that America’s political system is “broken,” “stagnant,” “gridlocked,” and even “dysfunctional.” We live in a highly polarized country where politics is a contest and the spirit of cooperation has seemingly vanished. And yet, despite the media hype, change is happening. Thanks to people like Archer Alumna Erika Johansson ’04 who has chosen a career with a distinct purpose – to help shape 21st century movements and incite change where change is needed. For the past three and a half years, Erika has served as a Senior Strategist for a company called Purpose, a New York-based b-corporation that works with organizations and progressive companies to help them mobilize largescale, purposeful action for a particular cause. Simply put, Purpose helps create movements to influence political, cultural, economic, and institutional systems in order to help solve some of the world’s biggest problems. “We work to make an impact on major, systemic, global issues – from global poverty, to modern slavery, social justice and more,” said Erika. “I’ve personally had the privilege to work on a variety of issues for our clients including cancer prevention, nuclear nonproliferation, international development, veterans rights, school bullying, and more.” Through her work at Purpose, Erika hopes to give every person the opportunity, the inspiration, and the tools they need to take thoughtful action on the issues that matter to them. Recently, she has shifted her efforts to internal projects within the company and spearheaded the creation of a technology project called the “Purpose Platform,” a new international online and mobile activism toolkit that aids in organizing movements on 8
a global scale. As a senior member of the team, she is charged with training new strategists that join the company and she’s also working to develop a series of seminars for professionals who want to find purpose in their own work. “My goal has always been to give people the tools they need to be advocates for what they believe in. I can and will make change on the issues that I personally care about, but I am a strong believer in amplifying and unifying the voices of others to make change,” said Erika. “Building out Purpose’s educational offerings and creating a shared online platform for activists around the world - these are the projects I’m most proud of and the projects that I think have immense potential to scale and accelerate the pace of social change.” Erika began her work at Purpose in 2009, when the organization had only six employees. In just a few short years, the company has grown to 60 people who all share a common goal. “I love working at a startup because I’ve been able to not only watch the company grow, but also help shape it into what it’s become,” said Erika. “The people at Purpose are incredible. We bring together folks from many backgrounds – online organizing, branding, marketing, creative, government, social innovation – to solve complex global challenges. Purpose people are the smartest, most thoughtful, and socially aware people I know. Working with them is inspiring.” It’s not surprising that Erika was drawn to an organization that charts its own path, cultivates new ideas, and embraces change. After graduating from Archer in 2004, Erika was accepted to the prestigious Gallatin School of Individualized Study at New York University. The program at Gallatin is unique in that the program doesn’t follow a prescribed major, instead
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