Director
Erica N. Duncan
Erica N. Duncan is a Liberian journalist, blogger, and content creator currently based in India, serving as AYCADO's Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment.
- Position
- Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment
- Organization
- AYCADO
- Leadership
- Director
- Education
- Bachelor's Degree in Mass Communication and Journalism, CT University, India. Graduated July 26, 2025.
Erica N. Duncan
Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment
Journalist | Blogger | Content Creator
Founder and CEO of EricaBlog
Biography
Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment
Erica N. Duncan is a Liberian journalist, blogger, and content creator currently based in India. She is a communications professional with a passion for storytelling, media, personal development, and creating opportunities for positive social change.
She holds a Bachelor's degree in Mass Communication and Journalism from CT University, India, graduating on July 26, 2025. Her academic background has strengthened her understanding of journalism, strategic communication, media engagement, and the power of storytelling in shaping public awareness and influencing society.
Erica is the Founder and Chief Executive Officer of EricaBlog, a digital media platform dedicated to entertainment news, human interest stories, community updates, and engaging content. Through the platform, she works to inform, educate, and inspire audiences while giving greater visibility to stories that deserve attention, particularly those emerging from Liberia and the wider African entertainment industry.
Her professional experience also includes working as an interviewer on entertainment programmes at True Pan Online TV in India, where she developed her interests in interviewing, presenting, media engagement, and connecting with people from different backgrounds.
As the Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment at the Africa Youth Career Development Organization (AYCADO), Erica contributes to the organization's commitment to advancing opportunities for women and girls. Her role reflects her interest in women's participation, personal development, leadership, and the creation of opportunities that enable women to reach their full potential.
Beyond her professional responsibilities, Erica is passionate about continuous learning, exploring new opportunities, building meaningful relationships, and developing her skills across different areas of media and communication. She believes journalism goes beyond reporting events. It is about giving people a voice, telling authentic stories, and using information to create meaningful change.
As a young Liberian woman building her professional journey across borders, Erica aspires to become an internationally recognized journalist and media professional while contributing to the growth of journalism and women's empowerment in Liberia and across Africa.
Role overview
Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment
The Director of Gender Development and Women Empowerment provides strategic leadership and coordination for AYCADO's initiatives focused on advancing the rights, development, participation, and empowerment of women and girls. The Director is responsible for identifying challenges affecting women and girls, developing programmes that address gender inequalities, and promoting opportunities for education, career development, entrepreneurship, leadership, and economic independence. The position ensures that women's perspectives and interests are considered across AYCADO's programmes and organizational activities. It also works to establish partnerships with institutions, women's organizations, development partners, and other stakeholders to expand opportunities for women and girls. The Director leads the development and implementation of gender focused programmes that encourage women to become educated, economically independent, confident, and actively involved in community and national development.
Personal philosophy
Erica believes that a person's background should never determine the limits of their dreams. She values vision, discipline, creativity, courage, and consistency, and believes that meaningful achievements come through determination and a clear sense of purpose.
She describes herself as a woman of ambition, grace, quiet strength, and endless possibilities. For her, personal growth is a continuous journey of learning, discovering oneself, and becoming more confident in one's purpose.
She believes that not every woman needs to make noise to make a statement. Sometimes, her presence speaks before she does.
With dreams bigger than her fears and a vision that continues to guide her, Erica remains committed to growing, creating, inspiring, and building a legacy that reflects who she is and what she believes in.
Leadership focus
The Director's leadership focuses on the following areas: Women's Leadership and Participation: Encouraging women and girls to take leadership positions and participate meaningfully in decision making within their communities and institutions. Gender Equality and Inclusion: Promoting equal opportunities and fair treatment for women and girls in education, employment, leadership, and community development. Education and Career Development: Supporting access to education, professional training, mentorship, scholarships, and career opportunities for women and girls. Economic Empowerment: Promoting entrepreneurship, vocational training, financial literacy, and income generating opportunities that strengthen women's economic independence. Protection and Advocacy: Supporting initiatives that address discrimination, gender based violence, harmful practices, and other barriers affecting the safety, dignity, and development of women and girls. Personal Development and Confidence Building: Creating opportunities that help women develop confidence, communication skills, professional abilities, and the capacity to pursue their ambitions. Women's Representation: Promoting women's visibility and meaningful representation in media, public institutions, professional organizations, and community leadership.
Contribution to AYCADO
Through her leadership, Erica N. Duncan contributes to AYCADO's mission of developing young people and expanding opportunities for underserved communities, with particular attention to women and girls. Her contribution includes: Developing gender focused programmes that address the educational, social, professional, and economic challenges facing women and girls. Promoting women's participation in AYCADO's leadership, training, scholarship, and career development initiatives. Establishing relationships with organizations and individuals working in women's rights, gender equality, and female empowerment. Advocating for increased access to education, employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership opportunities for women. Supporting mentorship initiatives that connect young women with experienced female professionals and leaders. Promoting awareness of issues affecting women and girls through communication, advocacy, media engagement, and community outreach. Encouraging the development of confident, independent, skilled, and socially responsible women who can contribute meaningfully to society. Helping AYCADO integrate gender considerations into its programmes, policies, and development activities.
Areas of responsibility
Executive responsibilities.
- 01
Gender Programme Development
Design and coordinate programmes that address the educational, social, economic, and professional development needs of women and girls.
- 02
Women's Empowerment Initiatives
Develop initiatives that strengthen women's confidence, independence, leadership abilities, and participation in society.
- 03
Gender Equality Advocacy
Promote equal opportunities for women and girls in education, employment, entrepreneurship, and leadership.
- 04
Female Leadership Development
Identify and support opportunities for women and girls to develop leadership skills and assume decision making responsibilities.
- 05
Education and Scholarship Support
Advocate for increased access to scholarships, educational resources, professional training, and learning opportunities for girls and women.
- 06
Career Development and Mentorship
Coordinate mentorship, career guidance, networking, and professional development programmes for women and young female graduates.
- 07
Entrepreneurship Promotion
Support initiatives that encourage female entrepreneurship, business development, vocational training, and financial independence.
- 08
Gender Awareness Campaigns
Organize campaigns, public discussions, workshops, and community engagements addressing gender equality and women's development.
- 09
Protection and Safeguarding Advocacy
Promote awareness of gender based violence, discrimination, exploitation, harassment, and other issues affecting women's safety and dignity.
- 10
Partnership Development
Establish working relationships with women's organizations, educational institutions, NGOs, government agencies, private sector organizations, and development partners.
- 11
Community Outreach
Coordinate community based activities that address the specific needs and challenges of women and girls, particularly those from underserved communities.
- 12
Women's Representation and Visibility
Promote women's participation and representation in public discussions, media, organizational leadership, and community development activities.
- 13
Policy and Programme Advisory
Advise AYCADO leadership on gender related issues and recommend approaches for integrating gender equality into organizational programmes and policies.
- 14
Research and Needs Assessment
Identify challenges affecting women and girls through consultations, community assessments, surveys, and relevant research.
- 15
Programme Monitoring and Evaluation
Monitor the progress and effectiveness of gender development programmes and recommend improvements based on documented results.
- 16
Resource Mobilization
Identify funding opportunities, prepare programme concepts, and contribute to proposals seeking financial and institutional support for women's empowerment initiatives.
- 17
Stakeholder Engagement
Represent AYCADO in relevant meetings, conferences, workshops, and discussions concerning gender development and women's empowerment.
- 18
Reporting and Documentation
Prepare periodic reports documenting Programme activities, achievements, challenges, lessons learned, and recommendations.
- 19
Internal Gender Mainstreaming
Work with other AYCADO departments to ensure that women and girls are considered in Programme planning, implementation, and evaluation.
- 20
Strategic Planning
Contribute to the development of AYCADO's long term gender development and women's empowerment strategies.
Direct contact
Write to Erica N. Duncan.
Leadership team
