Today, the Kresge Foundation announced the addition of two new Program staff members: Health Program Officer Erica L. Browne and Social Investment Officer Erika Brice.

Browne’s career has centered on bridging clinical and community linkages, and she brings a deep understanding of the impact of racism on population health to Kresge’s Health Program.

“With the extensive public health and policy expertise, as well as lived experience, that she brings to our team, we know that Erica will play a key role in our ongoing work to build equity-focused systems of health that create opportunities for all people to achieve well-being,” said Monica Valdes Lupi, managing director, Health Program.

Brown most recently served as a faculty affiliate for health policy and management at the California Initiative for Health Equity and Action, a state-wide research translation center that connects the University of California and the state’s health policy community.

Previous roles have included positions as a health policy research scholar at the School of Public Health at the University of California at Berkeley; community benefit manager and senior consultant at Kaiser Permanente; health program director for Mills College at UC Berkeley; and senior health educator with University Health Services at UC Berkeley. Browne is currently a member of the Interdisciplinary Association for Population Health Science and volunteers with the Ella Baker Center for Human Rights.

Brice’s expertise includes ESG (environmental, social, governance) investing, blending capital sources, and working with tax credit and community development financial institutions. In her new role, she will partner across Kresge’s programs with a focus on its Health and Human Services Programs, to source opportunities for program-related investments and guarantees to advance strategic objectives.

“We’re thrilled to add Erika to our team, as she brings a firm understanding of both traditional capital markets and the levers to pull for community investing in under-resourced communities,” said Aaron Seybert, managing director, Social Investment Practice. “Erika is our third new team member onboarding this year, as we’ve worked to refocus our Practice on place-based investment opportunities, racial equity and deeper strategic alignment with Kresge’s Programs. We know she’ll be a cornerstone of our work going forward.”

Brice joins Kresge after nearly two decades in commercial real estate investment, finance, and asset management. Most recently she was the principal for the  SI12 Group & Rector Development in Kansas City. There, Brice consulted with nonprofits and developers to build banking relationships, structure impact-focused financing, and develop a historic real estate project. Brice has also had stints at High Impact Financing Analysis, Blue Hills Community Services, NeighborWorks America, US Bank, and UrbanAmerica, a private real estate equity fund. Collectively, she has been involved in the financing and/or investment of more than $2 billion in real estate assets across the United States.