Erica Thompson

Erica Thompson is the Ohio regional business reporter covering race, gender, and the economy for the Columbus Dispatch and the USA Today Network. Her articles have also appeared on Billboard.com, Mic.com, HuffPost.com, TVLine.com, and UltimatePrince.com. She has been awarded by the Press Club of Cleveland and the Society of Professional Journalists for her reporting.

A native of Cincinnati, Ohio, Thompson has a master’s degree in journalism from Ohio University’s acclaimed E.W. Scripps School of Journalism, where she completed her thesis on Prince. She was invited to present her research on Prince’s spirituality at Purple Reign: An interdisciplinary conference on the life and legacy of Prince at the University of Salford, UK; Prince from Minneapolis symposium at the University of Minnesota; Prince EYE NO: Lovesexy Symposium at New York University (NYU), Prince #DM40GB30 Virtual Symposium at NYU, and Prince #1plus1plus1is3 Virtual Symposium at NYU.

She has been published in Theology and Prince, an edited collection on theology and the life, music, and films of Prince Rogers Nelson. She is currently finishing her first book, a comprehensive study of Prince’s spiritual journey.