Editor’s Note: This episode of Humans of Travel includes discussions on the topics of infant death, child loss and grief.

Erika Richter, the senior director of communications for the American Society of Travel Advisors, (also known as ASTA) has been a tireless advocate for travel advisors. She is well-known in the industry — by travel advisors and suppliers alike — and has spent nearly eight years as a spokesperson for the association.

A Michigan native who started her professional career on the Hill in Washington, D.C., Richter spent years gathering experience and honing her skills in advocacy, public relations and communications until a personal tragedy led her to push for a new kind of change.

In this episode of Humans of Travel, Richter recounts the horrific day that changed her life forever — the day she lost her two-week-old daughter, Emma, in August 2018.

Richter shares how she spent her time in the months following, including the moment she found out that Emma had died due to positional asphyxiation from Fisher-Price’s Rock ‘n Play Sleeper — an inclined infant sleep product that was recalled in 2019 — and her subsequent fight to hold the CEOs of Fisher-Price and Mattel (the owner of Fisher-Price) accountable by providing written and video testimony earlier this year during a Congressional hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

In This Episode

2:00: Meet Erika Richter, the senior director of communications for the American Society of Travel Advisors (ASTA)

2:30: What does a typical day look like working for ASTA?

3:55: What did Richter do prior to working for ASTA? 

11:20: Richter recounts her experience losing her daughter, Emma, in August 2018.

19:25: Richter reflects on the moment that she learned Emma died due to positional asphyxiation from Fisher-Price’s Rock ‘n Play Sleeper.

26:00: Richter embarks on a fight to hold the CEOs of Fisher-Price and Mattel accountable during a hearing with the House Committee on Oversight and Reform.

30:50: Richter shares an excerpt from her written testimony.

35:30: Richter speaks on the importance of updating the law, closing regulatory loopholes and educating consumers about the dangers of inclined sleepers.

41:30: What’s next for Richter as we head into 2022? 

Resources Mentioned in This Episode

Full Congressional Committee Hearing: Sleeping Danger: The Rock ‘n Play Sleeper and Failures in Infant Product Safety

The Safe Sleep for Babies Act of 2021

Study Concludes Design of Rock ’n Play, Other Infant Sleepers Led to Deaths (The Washington Post)

Fisher-Price Invented a Popular Baby Sleeper Without Medical Safety Tests and Kept Selling It, Even as Babies Died (The Washington Post)

New Evidence Shows More Infant Deaths Tied to Inclined Sleepers Than Previously Reported (Consumer Reports)

Contact Richter

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