Parishioner Spotlight: Erica Bowen
Erica with daughter Caroline
Parishioner Spotlight: Erica Caroline Bowen, 35
Hometown: Walton, KY
Family: Husband Cooper; daughters, Caroline, 5 1/2 and Eleanor (aka Nellie), 2
Church affiliation growing up: “Hugely Catholic with other religious influences.”
Profession: Attorney and clinical psychologist in training
There’s a lot to dig into based on your bio bites above! Tell me more about growing up “hugely Catholic with other religious influences.”
My mom (Catholic) was a deeply religious and spiritual person and was really close with her sister, Sindy, who went to a non-denominational church We often would go back and forth to church so I grew up with an understanding of other religions. My mom died at 32 from cancer when I was 9. I think that strong foundation in faith helped me get through her death.
You’ve mentioned that names in your family have deep meaning.
We were all named after family members, and I loved that tradition as a kid and hearing stories about them. I’m named after my Dad and my Great Aunt Caroline. She was feisty and was dressed up to go to an event one time when she learned that “her boys” hadn’t milked the cows. So, she did it herself, never taking off her fur coat. Cooper and I continued that naming tradition with our girls. Caroline is named after that same aunt and me; her middle name is Frances for Cooper’s grandfather who broke the world record for the 300-yard dash in 1929. Nellie is named after Coop’s Grandma Nellie. [Our Nellie’s] middle name, Parker, was my mom’s maiden name.
How did you and Cooper, aka Coop, meet?
We met our first year (2012) at Chase Law School at NKU (Northern Kentucky University. I was the person in the front of the class who asked a ton of questions, and he was the quiet one who sat in in the back of the classroom. We happened to live in the same apartment complex. I had finished preparing for oral arguments that we were doing in one class, but none of my friends had. I was looking for someone to go out with to celebrate. One friend suggested I might ask Coop, so I did. The rest is history. We took to each other instantly and stayed up all night talking.
When did you decide you wanted to be an attorney?
I always knew I was going to be an attorney. My dad, my grandpa, my uncle, all attorneys. Early on, I decided I wanted to do human rights work. In high school and college, I volunteered at a women’s crisis center, and in law school I did prisoners’ rights work, starting with children in the juvenile court system, then at the Ohio Justice and Policy Center. And then, I did a 180 and became a prosecutor in Hamilton County from 2014-2020!
Talk about the challenges of that.
I did a lot of abuse and neglect and dependency work geared around children. I represented Job and Family Services when they removed children from dangerous circumstances and then work to provide services needed to reunify the family. Some situations were more successful than others. It’s definitely more complicated and darker [legal] work than others. I also prosecuted misdemeanors.
And then COVID hit.
Caroline was born in 2018 and being in court when COVID first happened with a little one was very hard before testing or vaccines. Around that time, Cooper got an opportunity with a new law firm that allowed me to go part-time. I did legal work for one of my law professors who is an expert in Nazi stolen art, a completely different realm. It was very interesting.
And now you’re back in school?
Yes, I’m doing a 5-year program at Spalding University in Louisville to get a doctorate in clinical psychology. I want to do forensic psychology work in court, which can involve testifying about competency, traumatic brain injuries, fitness to parent, risk assessments or even working with individuals once they are incarcerated.
I’ll do a 180 now and ask, What is the best part about being a mom to Caroline and Nellie?
I love what they teach me about the world. Seeing everything new through their eyes. I love Caroline’s joy and her kindness. I love Nellie’s determination and fearlessness. Becoming their mom has made me a better person.
How did you end up at All Saints?
We wanted to raise our children in some kind of faith community. Cooper was raised Catholic, too, and Caroline was baptized in a Catholic church. But we struggled with its views on women. We have two little girls, and we were looking for a place that fully accepted them. I had listened to Bishop Michael Curry’s 2020 podcast with [author, social worker] Brene Brown. I loved Bishop Curry and read his book and asked Coop, “Should we be Episcopalian?” About a year and a half ago, we decided to try All Saints. We walked in with Caroline wearing a crown and Meredith didn’t miss a beat welcoming us. A formation class started soon after that we did. And we’ve been there ever since.
I’m not sure how you have time for your new All Saints gig as Community Engagement and Volunteer Coordinator, but we’re all glad you do! Why should people want to be part of your volunteer corps at church?
It’s been proven that volunteering makes you happier and your life more fulfilling.
Is there something most of us don’t know about you?
I collect old church cookbooks. Coop gives me a new cookbook every year for my birthday.
What is your favorite cuisine to cook?
I think it’s based on my background. My grandfather had died and a month later, my mother was diagnosed with cancer so my [maternal] grandmother lived with us during that period of time. We always were close, and I learned from cooking with her. I’d call it country cooking, solid, homegrown kind of cooking. She’d tell me how to make things but never write it down. I loved her vegetable soup and pickled cucumbers. And I would give anything in the world to have her spaghetti or fried chicken again.