• Skip to Content
  • Skip to Main Navigation
  • Skip to Search

Indiana University Bloomington Indiana University Bloomington IU Bloomington

Open Search
  • About
    • Facilities
      • Franklin Hall
        • Commons
        • Studios
          • Ken and Audrey Beckley Studio
          • Ed Spray Control Room
          • Studio 8
          • Studio 9
          • Studio 10
          • Studio 11
        • Production Labs
        • Game Design Facilities
        • Equipment Checkout
        • Student Media Suite
        • WIUX
        • Institute for Communication Research
        • Screening Room
      • Radio-TV
        • Studio 5
        • Equipment Checkout
        • Production Lab
        • Film Editing Room
        • Other Facilities
      • Using Facilities
    • Our History
    • Collections
    • Student Advisory Council
    • Belonging
    • Join Our Team
    • Strategic Plan
      • Strategic Priorities
      • Process
    • Governance/Tenure and Promotion Policies
    • Contact
      • General Inquiries
      • Report an Issue
      • Request Photos & Materials
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Cost, Aid & Scholarships
    • Visit Us
    • Request Information
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
      • BA in Journalism
        • News Reporting & Editing
        • Public Relations
        • Social and Digital Media
      • BA in Media
        • Cinema and Media Studies
        • Fashion Media
        • Film, Television and Digital Production
        • Interactive and Digital Media
        • Media Advertising
        • Media Management, Law and Policy
        • Media Science
        • Media Technologies, Games and Culture
        • Sports Media
      • BFA in Cinematic Arts
      • BS in Game Design
    • Graduate Programs
      • M.S. in Media
        • Data Journalism
        • Documentary/ Nonfiction Production
        • Journalism
        • Management
        • Strategic Communication
      • M.A. in Media Arts & Sciences
      • Ph.D. in Media Arts & Sciences
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Honors Programs
    • Courses
    • Precollege Programs
  • Research
    • Centers, Affiliates & Partners
    • Student Opportunities
  • Career Prep
    • For Employers
    • Career Possibilities
    • Internships
  • Student Experience
    • Travel Opportunities
    • Student Work Gallery
      • Gallery Archive
    • Student Organizations
    • Media Living Learning Center
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Graduate Student Directory
    • Student Ambassador Directory
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Current Students
    • Advising
      • Undergraduate Advising
      • Graduate Advising
    • Career Prep & Internships
      • Finding Internships & Jobs
      • Job Listings
      • Applying for Internship Courses
    • Get Involved
      • Managing and Creating Organizations
      • Peer Mentors
      • Student Ambassadors
      • Graduate Association
      • Honors Programs
      • Part-Time Jobs
    • Courses & Registration
    • Scholarships & Financial Aid
      • Undergraduate Scholarships
      • Graduate Scholarships
    • Student Support
    • Technology
      • Game Design Laptops
      • Connect2 Troubleshooting
      • Course Websites
      • Website Profiles
    • Travel Opportunities
  • Alumni & Giving
    • Giving to the School
    • Media School Alumni Board
      • Nominations
    • Distinguished Alumni Awards
    • Alumni Stories
    • Class Notes
    • Subscribe to the Newsletter
    • LA Council Members
    • Scholarship Directory

The Media School

  • Home
  • About
    • Facilities
    • Our History
    • Collections
    • Student Advisory Council
    • Belonging
    • Join Our Team
    • Strategic Plan
    • Governance/Tenure and Promotion Policies
    • Contact
  • Admissions
    • Undergraduate Admissions
    • Graduate Admissions
    • Cost, Aid & Scholarships
    • Visit Us
    • Request Information
  • Academics
    • Undergraduate Programs
    • Graduate Programs
    • Minors & Certificates
    • Honors Programs
    • Courses
    • Precollege Programs
  • Research
    • Centers, Affiliates & Partners
    • Student Opportunities
  • Career Prep
    • For Employers
    • Career Possibilities
    • Internships
  • Student Experience
    • Travel Opportunities
    • Student Work Gallery
    • Student Organizations
    • Media Living Learning Center
  • People
    • Leadership
    • Faculty Directory
    • Staff Directory
    • Graduate Student Directory
    • Student Ambassador Directory
  • News & Events
    • News
    • Events
  • Search
  • Current Students
  • Alumni & Giving
  • Home
  • Alumni & Giving
  • Alumni Stories
  • Erica Anderson

Erica Anderson's going low-tech

By: Jenna Williams

Thursday, May 12, 2022

Erica Anderson

To an outsider, Erica Anderson’s career path up until this point might sound linear.

She’s been part of teams at Twitter, Google, CBS News, MTV News and more. She’s lived in New York City, San Francisco and Washington, D.C., and has networks across all types of fields and demographics.

In reality, she says, her career has been a winding path filled with professional leaps.

“The truth is I made up every single job I’ve had so far except for my first job out of college,” Anderson, BAJ’06, said. “That is an amazing position to be in, that these people trusted me enough, that I was worth taking a risk on. ‘One day at a time’ is my motto.”

Anderson studied journalism, political science and religious studies at IU. IU encouraged her curiosity, propensity for asking questions and entrepreneurial mindset, she said.

She loved learning about the history of journalism.

“I think the institution is so important. I think the role it plays in society is essential,” Anderson said. “I’m so passionate about the mission, and what I took inside of these places was a deep belief in that journalistic institution.”

That belief in her personal mission and in the ideas she was bringing to the table has generated a wealth of opportunities. 

“When you go into a place with a strong personal mission, which for me was to help the platforms (while working at Twitter and Google, primarily) understand the history of journalism, to give them context to what they were disrupting,” she said. “That was my north star.”

Anderson started working on the side as a citizen journalist for MTV, reporting on the 2008 election while she worked in public affairs in Washington, D.C.

“I learned a lot about social media and digital strategies in the early days,” she said. “So I parlayed that into a consulting business, and Katie Couric hired me — CBS News hired me — to move to New York City and help her get up to speed on social media, especially Twitter.”

After her work at CBS, Twitter recruited Anderson. At the time, the company had about 300 people, she said, and she moved to San Francisco to focus on growing the journalism and news community on the platform.

“I had this dream job at CBS, but I knew if I went to Twitter, I was going to be pushed to learn so much that I knew would serve me,” she said.

The early days at Twitter were incredibly special, Anderson said.

“We were touching the sun every day,” Anderson said. “It just felt like we were on this rocket ship, and the most unbelievable things were happening every single second. Like the first time the pope tweeted or when Osama bin Laden was killed, and it was reported on Twitter — we were literally making history. I was surrounded by the most talented, creative, original people, so that was definitely a beautiful chapter.”

Anderson continued blending her passions for media and technology at Google, working on mitigating dis- and mis-information spread. She has also served as executive producer for Vox Media podcasts. 

“(My job path has been) finding the most important problem and making a case to work on it,” Anderson said. 

She also developed her advocacy skills, becoming part of the team leading the 2018 Google walkout in response to a New York Times investigation reporting how the company had paid millions of dollars in exit packages to male executives accused of misconduct without disclosing their transgressions.

Because she believes in community, Anderson said, advocacy was a natural extension within her work.

“From the beginning, it was personal to me to advocate for equal rights in the workplace,” she said.

She started an  LGBT group at Twitter and lent her support to the Google walkout. 

“As a lesbian, as someone who grew up in Indiana where it did not feel safe to be gay, and I felt like I had to leave, I felt as if I needed to find ways and opportunities to stand up for my community,” she said. “Everything is about collaboration.”

Now, her collaborative efforts are focused on her role as co-founder and chief business officer at The New Savant.

“The through-line of my career has definitely been having an entrepreneurial mindset,” Anderson said. “Even with MTV and CBS and Twitter, I was creating new things, and that actually is consistent with what I’m doing now.”

The New Savant, founded by Anderson and her partner Ingrid Nilsen, is a modern scent studio creating handmade candles. 

The idea blossomed when Anderson and Nilsen returned to Indiana for a visit, she said. While here, Nilsen picked up candle-making materials and experimented with creation. 

On their drive back to New York, Anderson and Nilsen discussed trying to make the new passion a successful business venture.

“I was like ‘I love this idea. Can I help you set up the business around it?’” Anderson said. 

The first collection sold out in seven minutes in December 2020, Anderson said. The business now has a devoted consumer base.

This new position is filled with new challenges and rewards, Anderson said. 

“I took this risk to start this olfactory business, which I don’t have subject expertise in, but I am learning so much about the future of scent, about our sense of smell, about the role it plays in our world,” she said. “I’m learning so much."

  • Giving to the School
  • Media School Alumni Board
  • Distinguished Alumni Awards
  • Alumni Stories
  • Class Notes
  • Subscribe to the Newsletter
  • LA Council Members
  • Scholarship Directory

The Media School social media channels

  • Faculty & Staff Intranet
  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • YouTube
  • LinkedIn

Indiana University

Accessibility | College Scorecard | Open to All | Privacy Notice | Copyright © 2025 The Trustees of Indiana University