Erin Upchurch, MSSA, LISW-S
Erin Upchurch (she/her) MSSA, LISW-S is an integrative social work practitioner, nonprofit leader, and somatic educator. She presently serves as the Executive Director for Kaleidoscope Youth Center, an organization that serves and supports LGBTQIA+ youth and young adults. Erin is a sought-after speaker and facilitator in the areas of leadership and organizational development, trauma recovery, and Transformative Justice as a framework for community and organizational practice. She is a visionary and believer in possibility. Her collective work creates, builds, and sustains programs and spaces that support and amplify voices that are traditionally silenced or ignored.
As a practitioner, she is committed to cultivating experiences of belonging in service of a kinder, safer, and more affirming world. Her approach is grounded in the practice of ‘queering leadership’ which is defined by Black queer feminist scholar and poet Alexis Pauline Gumbs as “that which fundamentally transforms our state of being and the possibilities for life. That which is queer is that which does not reproduce the status quo.”
Upchurch is a co-founder of The Ohio REST Collective, where they support sustainable transformation through the principles of rest. She is a 200-hour certified yoga instructor, End of Life Doula, and a parent to two hilarious, brilliant, and kind young adults.
In 2024, Erin was proudly honored as a 2024 YWCA Woman of Achievement.