Erika Flores is a Site Lead and Clinical Assistant Professor for the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College at Arizona State University. Erika's primary work is with undergraduate students and K-12 schools across rural Arizona. She lives and works in the rural community of Globe, Arizona. Her certifications include Elementary Education, English as a Second Language, and a master's in Elementary Curriculum and Instruction. Prior to her career with ASU, Erika was a grade level teacher for the Globe Unified School District, which is the district she attended as a K-12 student! She also spent a year at the Laveen Elementary School District teaching 5th grade ELD.
In 2018 Erika worked closely with the dean at Eastern Arizona College's Gila Pueblo Campus to start the Gila County Teacher Taskforce. This taskforce was developed to address the ever present issue of finding and retaining highly qualified and certified teachers in rural areas. Rural schools struggle year after year with filling classroom positions. The taskforce team sought out individuals who live and work and love the communities in which they live; with no intentions on leaving. The development of this taskforce ushered in the first cohort of Elementary and Special Education undergraduate students from the Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College @locations program. The @locations programs are continuing to grow in numbers and these graduates are now filling empty rural classrooms across Arizona! Erika is passionate about making high quality education accessible to all students. This includes post-secondary education. It is a great privilege and honor for her to be able to see and be an active participant of both taking place in her current role with the Teachers College.