Erica coleads the McKinsey Health Institute (MHI), a global, non-profit-generating entity within the firm, and is part of our broader Healthcare, Public Sector, and Social Sector Practices. She has spent close to 20 years working across public, private, and social sectors, with a focus on a holistic approach to care, inclusive of brain health and social determinants of health.
Through MHI, Erica leads ongoing efforts to invest in issues deeply relevant to society, with a specific focus on brain health—inclusive of mental, neurological, and substance-use disorders—and with the explicit purpose of convening leaders, advancing research, creating and promoting open-access data assets, and stimulating innovation. This builds on the strong foundation of McKinsey’s Center for Societal Benefit through Healthcare, which Erica cofounded and led for several years before its integration into MHI.
Erica coleads the firm’s work in behavioral-health analytics, which develops solutions for payers, government agencies, providers, and not for profits to improve treatment, care delivery, and payment systems for people with behavioral-health conditions. She also supports our client service around social determinants of health, working with cross-sector organizations to find sustainable ways to address unmet health-related basic needs.
Erica also helped to launch and lead the McKinsey Center for US Health System Reform, which is now part of MHI’s offerings. She remains a go-to voice for clients on health policies and health-insurance markets more broadly, particularly as it relates to regulatory implications in areas critical to the benefit of society.
Before joining McKinsey, Erica worked for a boutique healthcare-strategy consultancy. She was also with Massachusetts General Hospital, collaborating on clinical-trial research and assisting in the management of a mental health-focused not for profit, and spent time working with the Carter Center’s mental health program in Atlanta. Erica has served on the board of the National Alliance on Mental Illness in New York City and is committed to inspiring people around the world to be better mental-health advocates.
Videos
“Unlocking whole person care through behavioral health,” McKinsey & Company
Published work
“Investing in the future: How better mental health benefits everyone,” McKinsey Health Institute, April 2025
“Mental and physical health equity: A ‘medical civil right’,” McKinsey Health Institute, May 2024
“In search of self and something bigger: A spiritual health exploration,” McKinsey Health Institute, May 2024
“A ‘universal human right’: Quality mental healthcare for children,” McKinsey Health Institute, April 2024
“How to achieve great health for all? Start in your city,” McKinsey Health Institute, February 2024
“Getting to the bottom of the teen mental health crisis,” McKinsey Health Institute, September 2023
“Gen Z mental health: The impact of tech and social media,” McKinsey Health Institute, April 2023
“Prioritizing brain health: Scaling what works to add years to life and life to years,” McKinsey Health Institute, November 2022
“Present company included: Prioritizing mental health and well-being for all,” McKinsey & Company, October 2022
“Beyond burnout: What helps—and what doesn’t,” McKinsey Health Institute, October 2022
“Heat waves, the war in Ukraine, and stigma: Gen Z’s perspectives on mental health,” McKinsey Health Institute, September 2022
“Employee mental health and burnout in Asia: A time to act,” McKinsey & Company, August 2022
“Addressing employee burnout: Are you solving the right problem?,” McKinsey & Company, May 2022
“Patients struggle with unmet basic needs: Medical providers can help,” McKinsey & Company, April 2022
“Adding years to life and life to years,” McKinsey Health Institute, March 2022
“Addressing the unprecedented behavioral-health challenges facing Generation Z,” McKinsey & Company, January 2022
“COVID-19 and burnout are straining the mental health of employed parents,” McKinsey & Company, December 2021
“A reason to hope,” Re:think, McKinsey Quarterly, November 2021
“How affordable is mental healthcare? The long-term impact on financial health,” McKinsey & Company, October 2021
“How employers can improve their approach to mental health at work,” McKinsey & Company, September 2021
“Improving mental health: An interview with One Mind’s Garen Staglin,” McKinsey & Company, August 2021
“Overcoming stigma: Three strategies toward better mental health in the workplace,” McKinsey Quarterly, July 2021
“Returning to work: Keys to a psychologically safer workplace,” McKinsey & Company, July 2021
“Promoting mental wellness in the workplace,” McKinsey & Company, April 2021
“National surveys reveal disconnect between employees and employers around mental health need,” McKinsey & Company, April 2021
“COVID-19 and rural communities: Protecting rural lives and health,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021
“Insights on utilization of behavioral health services in the context of COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, March 2021
“Unlocking whole person care through behavioral health,” McKinsey & Company, February 2021
“COVID-19 and behavioral health: Consequences for companies and employees,” McKinsey & Company, December 2020
“Strong minds, strong futures: Behavioral health for the next generation,” McKinsey & Company, November 2020
“Understanding the hidden costs of COVID-19’s potential impact on US healthcare,” McKinsey & Company, September 2020
“A holistic approach for the US behavioral health crisis during the COVID-19 pandemic,” McKinsey & Company, August 2020
“Insights on racial and ethnic health inequity in the context of COVID-19,” McKinsey & Company, July 2020
“National employer survey reveals behavioral health in a COVID-19 era as a major concern,” McKinsey & Company, June 2020
“The implications of COVID-19 for vulnerable populations,” McKinsey & Company, May 2020
“Changing views on mental and substance use disorders: An interview with Patrick Kennedy,” McKinsey & Company, April, 2020
“Returning to resilience: The impact of COVID-19 on mental health and substance use,” McKinsey & Company, April 2020
“Helping US healthcare stakeholders understand the human side of the COVID-19 crisis: McKinsey Consumer Healthcare Insights,” McKinsey & Company, March 2020
“Understanding the impact of unmet social needs on consumer health and healthcare,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020
“Insights on mental health from a 2019 McKinsey Consumer survey,” McKinsey & Company, February 2020
“Why social determinants matter for children’s health: An interview with Michael Fisher,” McKinsey & Company, October 2019
“Expanding the economic pie in the Peach State,” McKinsey & Company, May 2019
“Addressing the social determinants of health: Capturing improved health outcomes and ROI for state Medicaid programs,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019
“Insights from the McKinsey 2019 Consumer Social Determinants of Health Survey,” McKinsey & Company, April 2019
“Reducing lapses in healthcare coverage in the Individual and Medicaid markets,” McKinsey & Company, March 2019
“Insights into the 2019 individual exchange market,” McKinsey & Company, December 2018
“2017 Individual exchange market consumer research findings,” McKinsey & Company, July 2018
“Individual market enrollment dropped 10-12% year-over-year as of the end of first quarter 2017,” McKinsey & Company, July 2017
“Hospital networks: Perspective from four years of the individual market exchanges,” McKinsey & Company, May 2017
“What can states do to change key parameters of Medicaid?” McKinsey & Company, April 2017
“What can states do to change key parameters of the individual market?” McKinsey & Company, April 2017
“Potential impact of individual market reforms,” McKinsey & Company, February 2017
“How to tame rising US healthcare costs,” McKinsey & Company, January 2017
“The next imperatives for US healthcare,” McKinsey & Company, November 2016
“Assessing the 2017 Medicare Advantage Star ratings,” McKinsey & Company, November 2016
“Understanding consumer preferences can help capture value in the individual market,” McKinsey & Company, October 2016
“Transitions in coverage type are the norm for most consumers over time,” McKinsey & Company, July 2016
“Hospital networks: Perspective from three years of exchanges,” McKinsey & Company, March 2016
Past experience
Easton Associates
Associate consultant
Harvard Medical School
Writer and interviewer, health systems improvement
Massachusetts General Hospital
Research assistant, the Stephan L. Harris Center for Chordoma Care
Education
Columbia University, Mailman School of Public Health
MPH
Columbia University, Columbia Business School
MBA
Harvard University
AB, sociology
