Meet Our Board President & Trailblazer: Erickajoy Daniels

Name: Erickajoy Daniels, aka, E.J.

Member since: 2018

Occupation: Chief Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Officer and Senior VP at Advocate Aurora Healthcare

Resides in: Mequon, WI but is originally from Maryland

Family: Husband John III and son John IV (15 years old)

Hobbies: Travel to anywhere that involves sun or water and allows her to experience another culture

Favorite MAC event: Her wedding reception (2005) & the Kentucky Derby party

Claim to fame: Handywoman of the house. She loves building and even has her own pink tool set

How he defines wellness: “A holistic mind-body-soul integration. Living your life in all those three aspects in a very healthy way."

When you meet Erickajoy Daniels and she looks at you with wide eyes and a smile that stretches ear to ear, you know she’s engaged. She wants to hear what you have to say, and she asks direct questions like “What are you excited about?” or “What’s working right now, and what needs work?”

A marriage proposal from John and a job offer at Brady Corporation lured her to Milwaukee in 2005. But Erickajoy and her family have enjoyed all aspects of their MAC membership since 2018. As the newly elected Board President, she is here to learn. Erickajoy is authentically curious, which makes her an effective leader. She wants to learn about the club, but also the people. Her approach to governance and management centers around advocating for the members.

I asked about the path of her professional career after she earned a degree in organizational psychology. “I started in military research and then went to prison,” she jokes. Erickajoy was on track to be a warden in the corrections system but then worked in manufacturing before landing in healthcare. By finding herself in a lot of uncommon spaces for a woman of color, she developed grit and has learned a lot. “I really enjoy the purpose-driven side of healthcare, it restores me when I get weary.” She built her department of over 80 people at Advocate Aurora and manages about a dozen.

Currently, she is one of the only women of color to serve as a private club president in the entire country and she recognizes the responsibility of that. “Trailblazing isn’t a smooth road, but it’s our job to take those hits so it’s smoother for someone else,” she says.

Similar to trailblazing, Ericakjoy is passionate about empowering young women by learning who they need to know or what tools they need to add fuel to their fire. She sees the void for women to have safe places to connect so she hosts women at her home and calls it “Rest your cape night,” allowing women to come together and stop feeling like they need to be a superhero.  

With MAC membership at just under 1,000, Erickajoy is challenging the staff and Board to hit 1,882 – a memorable number since it was the year the club was founded. What else is on her agenda? She’s focused on “Keeping the gold” among all these changes. With at least six different generations at the club, she wants to find creative ways that they can learn from each other with an emphasis on storytelling. When it comes to a culture shift, she is focused on intentional connections and experiences to make this an epicenter for the city and uniting stakeholder groups so that there can be difference without conflict, ensuring the sustainability of the club for many more years to come.