Ward 1

Biography

Erin Edwards has dedicated her career to service. She got her start in front of a high school classroom, serving two full terms of AmeriCorps. Since that time, she has over a decade of experience in the nonprofit sector: managing a portfolio of health investments for a United Way, directing a network of soup kitchens, food pantries, and homeless shelters, and funding programs for youth in foster care and innovations led by women and girls around the globe. Erin has lived in the U.S., France, Canada, and Haiti, and she has a master's degree in International Development.

In Riverside, Erin sat on the board of the Riverside Downtown Partnership and was the former chair of Glocally Connected, a refugee-serving organization in Riverside County. Elected in November 2019, Erin is proud to represent Ward 1 on Riverside City Council. She chairs the Council’s Housing & Homelessness Committee, served on the Mayor’s Housing Task Force and Santa Ana River Working Group, and sits on the Council’s Economic Development and Land Use Committees. She lives with her partner, Liz, and their young daughter, Ramona, in Downtown Riverside.

As Councilmember, Erin Edwards led the passage of the Northside Specific Plan in 2020. Councilmember Edwards championed a policy, which passed in October 2021, that prioritizes local hiring for the development of surplus City land. Erin has played a key part in the important work of addressing the many issues in the river bottom: taking steps toward regional coordination, sealing entrances to unauthorized vehicles, and proposing a plan to stop warming fires in the most at-risk areas.