Create things that matter.
Co-founder and CEO of THE NEW SAVANT.
Former Google, Twitter, MTV News, CBS News, Vox Media/New York Magazine.
Experience
Read: Erica Anderson's Going Low Tech, IU Media School, May 12 2022.
Erica is an entrepreneur. Following a cutting edge chapter shaping technology's impact on media, in 2020 she followed her nose to a new industry: fragrance and air care.
In New York City in the midst of the pandemic, THE NEW SAVANT was born. The name pays homage to the self-made path in life, most notably honoring her co-founder, Ingrid Nilsen. A college dropout-turned beloved YouTube creator and culture maker, Nilsen is continuing her work to create space for underrepresented folks, this time with scent.
At TNS, Erica is CEO, overseeing business operations and strategy. TNS was recently welcomed into The Fragrance Foundation, an organization that curates some of the world's most established and provocative fragrance makers.
Previous to TNS, Erica spent 15 years developing fact-based information ecosystems for some of the world's most influential companies: MTV News, CBS News, Twitter, Google and Vox Media.
At Google (2016-19), Erica led global Google News Lab efforts to combat misinformation. In partnership with product, Erica helped design solutions to elevate high-quality journalism across Google's numerous products. Her work took her around the world, to Singapore, Hong Kong, Brazil, France, Germany and the UK, where she met with local journalists and fact checkers to better understand use cases and bring them back to Google. She was also a co-organizer of the historic Google Walkout.
At Twitter (2011-15), where Erica was one of the first 300 employees, she pioneered the company's journalism efforts. Her work included the inaugural best practice program, Twitter for Newsrooms, and the development of satellite long codes to enable journalists to Tweet from war zones. She produced the first Twitter Town Hall, where she nudged President Barack Obama to post his first Tweet with the initials "-B.O.". During her five year tenure, she advised business development teams on acquisitions and experienced the company's IPO. She started Twitter’s internal LGBT group (“Twitter Open”) by pursuing community and organizing the queer identifying employees.
Prior to Twitter, Erica had the opportunity to work for Katie Couric at the CBS Evening News. Her main focus was integrating social media, and specifically Twitter, into Katie's routine.
Erica also covered the 2008 Presidential election for MTV News Choose or Lose, Street Team ‘08. She graduated from Indiana University with a B.A. in journalism and minors in political science and religious studies.