A Product of Michigan Manufacturing
and Michigan Public Schools
Eric’s father was able to support his family by working at automotive plants in Warren, Sterling Heights, and Shelby Township. Eric and his brother thrived in public schools in Madison Heights, learning from their teachers what their parents were showing them at home: the values of hard work, integrity, and kindness.
Michigan was hit hard in the 2008 Recession, and Eric’s family was no exception. The income they relied on vanished when Eric’s dad was laid off from the machine plant in Warren — where he’d worked for 15 years. Like so many Michigan families, Eric’s family saw their future and their community plunge into uncertainty. Eric committed himself to getting the strongest education possible and using it to advocate for his family and other American workers.
Eric worked tirelessly inside and outside of the classroom, becoming valedictorian of his graduating class at Lamphere High School and an all-star athlete in the Macomb Area Conference. His accomplishments landed him another achievement: the first student in his school to attend Harvard College, where he again graduated at the top of his class.
Fighting for Economic
and Educational Opportunity
Eric’s first love was teaching — he worked as a tutor in high school, and went on to get his teaching license at Harvard and taught civics to 4th graders. But after seeing his students struggle to learn because of economic challenges beyond their control, he decided to take the fight into the policy arena.
Eric went on to Yale Law School and became an attorney with a drive for taking on the powerful and standing up for what’s right – like bringing cases on behalf of children sickened by lead-contaminated water, and fighting for veterans unfairly denied benefits they’d earned. Eric also worked for the Senate Judiciary Committee to advise on the confirmation of Justice Ketanji Brown Jackson to the Supreme Court, and with the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice to ensure fairness and opportunity in education.
