about erica
I am a life and leadership coach certified with Coaching for Healing, Justice, and Liberation and have coached nonprofit leaders since 2018. I’ve worked with youth development/ community nonprofits since 2003 and am proud to continue mission-driven work as the Director of Programs for the San Francisco Beacon Initiative.
I'm the child and grandchild of immigrants from the Philippines, born and raised in the vibrant city of San Francisco. Organizing spaces and information has always brought me a sense of peace and joy. At home, I share my life with my husband Gary and our two amazing kiddos, Liam and Lucas. We’re all about good food, meaningful moments, and exploring new places together. As a highly sensitive empath, I feel the world on a deep level, and I’m driven by my passion for social justice. One of my life’s purposes is to create healing spaces for BIPOC individuals and communities, where we can connect, heal, and thrive.
about coaching
La aurora means “the dawn” in Spanish. Dawn is when light first appears in the sky, just before the sun rises, and coaching is just like the beautiful and gradual unfolding of a sunrise!
In our coaching sessions together, I ask intentional questions to help you illuminate what is right under the surface of your experiences. It will be a journey of Self exploration and discovery where you will begin to unearth your true essence, values, and needs.
I will also hold a safe and healing space for you to acknowledge and embrace all of the different Parts of you. I use a therapeutic approach called Internal Family Systems, also known as Parts Work. By acknowledging and bringing light, compassion, and care to the multiplicities of who you are, you will start to cultivate trust and peace within.
Lastly, we will tap into the wisdom of your body, spirituality (however you define it), and your ancestral roots so that you are able to tap into a wellspring of inner strength, resilience, and knowledge that can guide you towards growth and transformation.
As you invest in yourself and understand your depths, you will be able to live and lead with love, joy, and choice. Where you can feel more connected to your Self, the people in your life, and how you show up in the world.
about la aurora
My 3rd Great Lolo (grandfather in Tagalog) Antonio San Agustin was part of the Katipunan revolutionary society in the Philippines working to gain independence from Spain. He owned a bookstore named La Aurora which the Katipunan often used as a meeting place. He was 36 years old when Spanish authorities arrested him with 12 other Katipuneros and executed them for planning an uprising in their province against the Spanish government. Spanish leaders hoped the martyrs would discourage Filipinos from a revolution, but it only fueled the fire leading to successful efforts across the country and later a proclamation of Philippine independence.
I’ve named my coaching practice La Aurora to honor my Lolo Antonio and the role he had as an activist for liberation. I honor his vision of justice and continue in his legacy of holding space for community.
about my journey
My entire life I’ve always carried an underlying energy of anxiety, hypervigilance, and self-criticism that kept me from living authentically and joyfully. Whether it be when I was a kid at school, when I was hanging out with my friends and family, or when I worked, but especially when I became a mom.
In 2021, during the pandemic and political chaos, I began working with my coach, Ja Young, who helped me uncover that my struggles—anxiety, depression, imposter syndrome, and grief—weren’t just mine but were passed down through generations of trauma from colonization, immigration, and assimilation. I realized my pain had deep ancestral roots from those in my family who had been silenced and were forced to disconnect from their Selves. But this discovery also revealed the same systems of white supremacy that impacted my family were the same ones I was witnessing around me - racism, sexism, capitalism, imperialism, etc. These systems shape the lives of BIPOC individuals and communities, creating barriers and causing harm.
This is one perspective I bring to coaching: true liberation—love, joy, and choice—comes from taking intentional time and space to understand who we are, where we come from, and how the systems of oppression intersect. As a mom and nonprofit leader, I now embrace my wholeness and the strength and resilience I carry within me from my ancestors. Through this healing journey, I’m slowly mending both my wounds and those of my ancestors, empowering me to lead with clarity, confidence, and love in my career and with my family. Reclaiming my truth and power has allowed me help others do the same.