Erik is a Meteorologist and currently Associate Director of Education and Outreach for the Extreme Events Institute (EEI) and the International Hurricane Research Center (IHRC) at Florida International University (FIU) in Miami. EEI and the IHRC are at the forefront of reducing the impact of natural hazard events through research in wind engineering and the NSF-NHERI Wall of Wind, storm surge modeling, economic loss modeling, and disaster risk reduction in Latin America and the Caribbean.

Education outreach has been a career focus for Erik, including the annual NOAA Hurricane Hunter Awareness Tour, the Wall of Wind Mitigation Challenge High School Competition, Wall of Wind Museum Exhibit, NOAA P-3 Hurricane Hunter Museum Exhibit, Hurricane Andrew Museum Exhibit, and Eye of the Storm Museum Event.

Before FIU, Erik worked at Miami-based America's Emergency Network (AEN) and the non-profit Hurricane Warning at the Disaster Survival House, in Deerfield Beach, Florida. Erik also has over 25 years of experience as a broadcast meteorologist, providing live continuous coverage for hurricanes,
tornadoes and flooding.

Erik served on the AMS Board for Broadcast Meteorology which developed the new AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist Seal for television. Erik also spearheaded the Save Our Weather Office Campaign in Fort Wayne, IN, which resulted in a Congressional response to fund operations of local National Weather Service Offices across the country. Erik recently testified on October 14th, 2021 at the hearing entitled “The Future of Forecasting: Building a Weather-Ready Nation on All Fronts,” for the US House Committee on Science, Space, and Technology.

Erik was inducted into the Meteorologist Hall of Fame in 2020 by the Punxsutawney Weather Discovery Center. In addition, he was recognized in 2016 as an exemplary NOAA Weather-Ready Nation Ambassador, nominated for 2016 National Weatherperson of the Year, received an Excellence in Media Award from the Press Club of Southeast Texas in 2004, a Bronze Telly Award in 1998, the Florida Governor’s Hurricane Conference Media Award in 1994 and TV Broadcaster of the Year by the National Weather Association in 1989.

Erik is a Full Member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association and earned an MS in Meteorology from Northern Illinois University and a BS in Physical Geography with an emphasis in Meteorology from the University of Illinois.