Erin White

Erin Erdmann White’s life has always centered around community. So it comes as no surprise that the urge to give back to Bloomington while meeting new people was the reason she approached Tri Kappa sister Rebecca Cook about joining the Bloomington club.

Erin, a Columbus North graduate, came to Indiana University in 2001 to study tourism management. Her first job after college was with IU, working special events for the Athletic Department under Rick Greenspan. A couple years later, she was hired by Visit Bloomington, where she served for 15 years ending with a stint as director of marketing and media relations.

In 2022, Erin took a job in employer relations with IU’s Kelley School of Business. Rebecca led her team, and they became friends.

“I had expressed interest to Rebecca about Tri Kappa because when I left Visit Bloomington, a lot of my identity was wrapped up in the community,” Erin says. “A sense of community is really important to me. Then I left Kelley to work for Envisionit, an integrated advertising agency, and going remote meant even less interaction with the community for me.

“I knew Rebecca was a part of Tri Kappa and that she really enjoyed her membership experience, so I let her know I was interested in joining. We always had a really good working relationship, and it just felt like a natural extension to join her in Tri Kappa.”

Following her 2024 initiation, Erin dove right into the fundraising opportunities and sisterhood that Tri Kappa offers.

“I like the sense of community I get in Tri Kappa, being part of something bigger than myself, something I wouldn’t be able to achieve or do on my own,” Erin says. “We’re a group of women working toward a mutual goal and having fun doing it.”

Erin’s favorite Tri Kappa event is the first meeting of each club year, which runs September through June.

“I really like the annual kickoff meeting in September,” Erin says. “It’s like going back to school: you catch up with people; we talk about the organization’s plans for the year; we raffle off baskets of our favorite things.”

Erin echoes many of her Tri Kappa sisters when she lists the reasons she enjoys the local philanthropic sorority.

“The ability to give back to the community we call home is so awesome,” Erin says. “We step up in emergency situations, support families in need during the holidays and even have sisterhood socials. It’s just a great organization, and I really enjoy being a part of it.”

   More About Erin:

• She met her husband, Kevin, on the night the bar/restaurant The Rail closed in Bloomington – they’ve been married since 2017

• All her initials growing up were E’s: Erin Elizabeth Erdmann

• Enjoys playing mahjong, which she learned from Tri Kappa sister Trish Surfus Smith

• Gives an annual “tour” of her flower garden on Instagram

• Her first job in high school was at Target