Erna was born and raised in Los Angeles and attended Pasadena City College. Erna has worked in the retirement industry for over 30 years, starting in the accounting and operations departments at Transamerica in the early 1980s through the 1990s.  She also worked at Union Bank of California, Retirement Services Conversions Team where she was part of the onboarding process for 401(k) plans and then eventually moved into the TPA business as a Pension Administrator.  Erna began her career with CrossPlans in September of 2015.

Erna and her husband Jeff live in Aliso Viejo, California where they enjoy traveling the country on a quest to visit all 30 MLB stadiums. In 2019, they will hit four more ballparks to bring their total to 27 parks! Their favorite stadium experience so far was attending the Yankees season opener at Boston. Erna and Jeff  have three adult children that they also love to spend their free time with - during the off-season.