Influential Woman · NonProfit 501c3
Ericka BabyGirl De Leon
Executive Officer, Bgirl City Worldwide Inc.
Houston, TX 77020
Her Story
About Ericka
She is a passionate community leader and hip-hop culture advocate with over a decade of experience in youth development, event branding, and nonprofit leadership. Currently serving as Executive Director at Bgirl City Worldwide, she designs and implements programs that empower youth through hip-hop culture and creative expression. BgirlCity Worldwide Inc., a self-established organization dedicated to uplifting womxn in hip-hop through community outreach, events, and advocacy. As a freelance consultant, she blends hip-hop culture with strategic branding and event start-up expertise to help organizations and brands create impactful, authentic experiences. Her commitment to youth and community service includes over four years as a Mentor and Navigator at Houston: reVision, where she supported at-risk youth through guidance and community outreach. She holds a certification in Medical/Clinical Assistance from Texas School of Business-North. She is recognized as a visionary, ground-breaking leader who is revolutionizing Houston's hip-hop culture by creating spaces, opportunities, and voices for the next generation of womxn in the movement.
Her Interview
Ten minutes with Ericka
01What do you attribute your success to?
My strongest asset — turning vision into infrastructure — is the direct lever for the next phase of growth:
Package 30 years as a system, not a story.
Turn each of the three signature talk pillars into a mini curriculum: a clear before/after transformation, key takeaways, and one repeatable framework or phrase — the way “Powered by community. Built by womxn. Led by love.” already functions as brand language.
02What’s the best career advice you’ve ever received?
You don’t have to shrink to be respected.
Whatever your version of soft and unapologetic looks like — your faith, your femininity, your poetry, your softness — that is not a liability here. That is your difference. Don’t leave it at the door to be taken seriously. The ones who last are the ones who brought their whole selves in.
03What advice would you give to young women entering your industry?
Say yes to the unglamorous jobs.
Before you say yes to the stage, say yes to the snack table, the load-in, the volunteer shift nobody wants. That’s where you learn how this all actually works. That’s how people learn they can trust you with something bigger.
Learn the paperwork.
I know — it’s not why you fell in love with this. But learn contracts. Learn what an MOU is. Learn the business early, because the girls who last aren’t always the most talented in the room — they’re the ones who understood enough to make sure nobody could take advantage of them.
04What are the biggest challenges or opportunities in your field right now?
There will be seasons with no money and no recognition, where you’re doing the work because you love it and for no other reason, because no other reason is showing up yet. That season is not a sign you chose wrong. It’s the season almost everyone who built something real had to survive.
05What values are most important to you in your work and personal life?
Integrity — doing what you said you’d do, even when nobody’s checking. Show up on time. Honor the contract, the handshake, the small promise. Your word is the only currency that never runs out if you spend it right.
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