Erika Kirk, the widow of slain conservative activist Charlie Kirk has been appointed to the United States Air Force Academy Board of Visitors.
In a statement, August Pfluger, the chair of the board said he had supported the idea of appointing Erika months earlier and praised Donald Trump for the decision.
“Erika is the right person to fill Charlie’s place on the Board and continue his work of inspiring the next generation of service members and advancing the Academy,” Pfluger said. “I look forward to working alongside her to carry on Charlie’s legacy.”
Erika’s appointment comes nearly a year after President Trump first appointed her late husband to the board in March 2025. Charlie Kirk attended his first meeting at the academy on August 7, just weeks before he was assassinated at Utah Valley University on September 10.
After his death, Erika took over leadership of Turning Point USA, the conservative organization he co-founded.
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Erika Kirk’s education background
Erika Kirk is 36 and studied at Notre Dame Preparatory High School in Scottsdale in Arizona, a private Catholic school and graduated in 2007.
She later attended Regis University in Denver. After her sophomore year, she returned to the Phoenix area and completed her undergraduate studies at Arizona State University where she earned degrees in political science and international relations.
She also earned a degree in American legal studies from Liberty University. According to her website, she is also pursuing a doctorate in Biblical studies.
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Career and charitable work
In 2012, Erika was crowned Miss Arizona and she married Charlie Kirk in 2021 and the couple have two children together, a one-year old son and a daughter who turned three in August.
Before becoming the head of Turning Point USA, Erika was involved in several charity projects. At the age of 19, she started a nonprofit called Everyday Heroes Like You with her mother. The group provided toys, books and games to children in hospitals.
In 2017, she also started the AZ Foothills Charitable Foundation with Michael Dee, the publisher and CEO of AZ Foothills magazine. The foundation is now reported to be inactive.
Erika later focused on her company Proclaim365, a clothing and lifestyle brand connected to the ministry Biblein365. The brand has sold items such as baby blankets, bags, T-shirts and household goods with Bible verses.