ABOUT ERIKA BRECHTEL
Strategic advisor, brand consultant, and social entrepreneur helping women make their mark matter.
My purpose is clear: elevating women globally. For more than two decades, I have helped founders, physicians, entrepreneurs, and leaders transform expertise, vision, and purpose into businesses, brands, programs, and initiatives that create meaningful impact. Through strategic advisory, brand development, speaking, and Élanoura, I help women bring their ideas to life and build work that reflects who they are and the contribution they want to make.
bio
Erika Brechtel is a strategic advisor, brand consultant, speaker, and social entrepreneur who has spent more than 20 years helping founders, physicians, executives, and women leaders bring ambitious ideas to life with greater clarity, purpose, and impact.
Since 2002, her work has spanned strategic advisory, brand development, speaking, mentoring, angel investing in women-led companies, nonprofit leadership, and social entrepreneurship. Grounded in a lifelong engagement with art and visual culture, including a B.A. in Art History from UCLA, her approach brings together strategic thinking, creative direction, and a deep understanding of how meaning is communicated through visual language. Through her consulting practice, she has advised leaders across healthcare, wellness, consumer products, professional services, and social impact, helping them shape distinctive brands, businesses, programs, and platforms that reflect their vision and the contribution they want to make.
Erika has been featured in Forbes, Thrive Global, SELF Magazine, HuffPost, POPSUGAR, LUXE Magazine, and on the cover of OC Family Magazine. She has spoken for and facilitated workshops with organizations including UCLA Anderson School of Management, UCLA Alumni, the American Society of Plastic Surgeons, Junior League, Bumble Bizz, and Fabletics, sharing insights on branding, entrepreneurship, leadership, and purpose-driven growth.
A magna cum laude graduate of UCLA with a B.A. in Art History, Erika brings a lifelong interest in art, visual culture, and the ways ideas are given form to more than two decades of work in brand strategy and creative direction. A former UCLA NCAA Division I women's soccer collegiate athlete, Erika remains actively involved with the university community through the UCLA Alumni Mentor Program, UCLA Startup Social Entrepreneurship Summer Program, and Bruin Women in Business, helping students and emerging leaders navigate their next chapter. Her commitment to advancing opportunities for women has also included service on the boards of the State of Women Institute and the Junior League of Orange County, as well as volunteer leadership with organizations supporting girls’ education, career development, and community impact.
In 2022, Erika founded Élanoura, a social enterprise that brings women leaders together from around the world for purpose, connection, and impact. Since its founding, Élanoura has welcomed women from 24 countries across four retreats in Morocco, Mallorca, and Greece. Through nonprofit partnerships and in-person volunteering, participants have supported educational opportunities for girls, services for women survivors of violence, and job skills training and wellness programs for women and girl refugees, with 10% of every retreat fee donated directly to local organizations.
Erika is currently based in Los Angeles enjoying life with her 17 year old daughter before she leaves to study creative writing at university in the UK.
THE LASTING MARK
METHOD
01 IDENTITY
Who you are
02 EXPRESSION
How you bring it into the world
03 IMPACT
The difference it makes
How I Help Leaders Build Meaningful Work
IDENTITY is the first step: understanding who you are, what you stand for, and what matters most to you. EXPRESSION is how you bring that into the world through your ideas, work, voice, and presence. IMPACT is what becomes possible when that expression connects with others, creates change, and contributes something meaningful beyond you. This is the foundation of The Lasting Mark Method, my framework built around four essential elements:
People — Who are you here to serve?
Purpose — Why does this work matter?
Positioning — How is your value unique?
Personality — How is your value authentic?
Together, they create the foundation for what becomes meaningful work, stronger relationships, intentional growth, and an impactful life.
kind words
FROM WOMEN FOUNDERS
"Erika took my dream and helped me turn in into reality! I could not have launched my brand without her. Everything from logo, brand voice, fonts, website design were all done in a collaborative, patient and supporting way. Erika knew how much presenting my brand to the world meant to me and it showed. I am forever grateful for having been introduced to her!"
Andrea Tello, Founder, mi|tu corazón
"Élanoura Global Founder's Retreat is an experience you don't want to miss. You are surrounded by the beautiful Moroccan desert, colorful fabrics and gold rimmed dishes everywhere but most importantly you are surrounded by savvy women business owners. Supporting each other by elevating our skills and making a difference in each others lives. Not only did I come back refreshed and renewed I came back with a full heart of gratitude. I made friends for life and am ready to elevate my business to the next level! Thank you Erika for creating such a beautiful foundation."
Elizabeth Hall, Eeze Natural Health
"Working with Erika was an absolutely transformative experience, both personally and professionally. She took me through everything from getting clear on my brand mission, to identifying my brand personality and legacy. I learned a wide wealth of knowledge that has completely transformed how I view my business and has invigorated my passion and commitment to my greater WHY. Thank you Erika from the bottom of my heart!
Alessandra Salituri, Founder & CEO, Citizen Atelier, Montreal
"Right people, right place, right time. What (I didn't know) I needed was the space to step back from the frenetic pace of life and have a chance to redefine my goals and reconnect with my authentic self. The Global Founder's Retreat was just that. I left the trip feeling energized, inspired, and so grateful to have been with this group, on this trip."
Heather Kosiek, Launch Studio
"I’ve admired Erika and her work for YEARS and am now lucky enough to know her personally and work with her professionally. She is one of the most talented, creative, inspiring, and hard-working women."
Kat Tanita, With Love From Kat
"I've finished the course, and wow! Thank you for doing what you do! I feel so much more confident going into this phase of my life where I want to build a brand/true business for myself as a writer. It's like you've helped to lift a fog, and now I can see more clearly the steps I need to take next as well as the goals I'd like to achieve as I progress. When I find myself stressing about the state of entrepreneurship, business, or gender inequality in our world today, I'm comforted knowing people like you are working to create a healthier, happier, and fairer environment in which women can thrive and achieve their dreams."
Adrianna N., Phoenix AZ
“Working with Erika is unlike any branding experience I’ve had before - she doesn’t just design a beautiful brand, she uncovers who you actually are and builds everything from there. Through her method, I clarified my long-term vision, identified my ideal audience, and finally felt like my brand tells the true story of my work. After more than thirty years of knowing her, I can say without hesitation: she has a rare gift for helping women discover what they didn’t even know they had in them.”
Dr. Nancy Yen Shipley, Form & Function Orthopedics
"In the past six months, I have invested in countless online classes and programs. The Branding Masterclass was quite simply the most effective experience I have had – and that is exactly why: because it is an experience. This class is not simply a tool; it reaches far beyond strategies and tactics (which of course are phenomenal with an expert leader like Erika). Erika, I can’t thank you enough for the energy and wisdom you are sharing – you are literally changing lives."
Maris D., Columbus OH
values
01 IMPACT
I support people who want to create meaningful value and positive change through their work.
02 INTEGRITY
I choose to work with people who believe in creating quality, and who are thoughtful with their impact on their families, employees, customers, and communities.
03 COLLABORATION
I build lasting relationships with people rooted in mutual trust. I am honored that they have come back again and again for new initiatives, partnerships, launches, and refreshes through the years.
04 ACCOUNTABILITY
I believe in transparency, honesty, kindness, respect, accountability, and delivering my best. And I choose to work with people who believe the same.