Erika Olson
Stacy Blackman Consulting - MBA Admissions ConsultantErika received her MBA from Harvard Business School, where she also served as an HBS Admissions Ambassador. She earned her BBA (with high distinction) at the University of Michigan Ross School of Business, and spent the first two years of her undergraduate studies in University of Michigans Honors College, where she was named an Angell Scholar. She is an experienced admissions consultant and enjoys helping her clients craft the most interesting stories that will set them apart from the competition. She has had clients accepted to every top 15 MBA program, and many have been granted significant scholarships.
In addition to her admissions consulting work, Erika is a freelance writer and editor who does everything from corporate web site copy to social media content to movie reviews. For 6.5 years she was the social media writer and film critic for national DVD retailer Redbox and is on the Board of the Chicago Film Critics Association. She is also an author: her first book, Zero-Sum Game: The Rise of the Worlds Largest Derivatives Exchange, was published by Wiley in late 2010.
Prior to her freelancing career, Erika served as the Managing Director of Marketing at the Chicago Board of Trade. Before joining the Board of Trade, Erika was the Vice President of Communications, Programs and User Experience for the Commercial Bank division of JPMorgan Chase. Before graduate school, Erika was an Internet strategy consultant and worked with clients in the financial services and pharmaceutical industries. She oversaw a five-continent, ten-country customer research project and opened the Chicago office for her Seattle-based firm.
She lives in Chicago with her husband, son and black lab. Whenever she gets a chance she loves to travel, and has visited over 45 countries across all seven continents (yes, even Antarctica).