Title:Called to be…a community catalyst

Eric Woods (B’91)

Eric Woods co-founded the Black Alumni Summit and Georgetown University Alumni Association Black Alumni Council; serves on the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation; is a founding board member for the Georgetown Angel Investment Network; and is a board member for the Georgetown Entrepreneurship Alliance and the a member of the Board of Regents.

Find out how Woods’s Hoya pride helps him build community.

How did you find Georgetown?

I wanted to be in a selective city school. I can’t think of any better outcome than having gone to Georgetown. The first semester was rough academically, but I think Georgetown took my raw materials and crafted them into something solid. 

How did you create a sense of community after graduating? 

When I graduated, I couldn’t wait to leave DC, but as I got older, my appreciation for DC and my Georgetown lessons grew. Georgetown alums are proud to have been there. I feel I have a responsibility to not only protect it, but to ensure it continues to grow and permeate the world.

The entrepreneurship community at Georgetown is one of immense energy and talent. Creating an entrepreneurship alliance allows entrepreneurs to come together and support each other. The Georgetown Angel Investor Network (GAIN) brings resources of Georgetown alumni to budding Georgetown entrepreneurs, helping them be successful.

I have also been fortunate enough to work with [President Emeritus] DeGioia to grow the Black Alumni community. I am always inspired by his values-driven leadership and I think that is what drives me the most about Georgetown. I found myself drawn to the Black alumni engagement endeavor because I feel like Black alumni and Black students have magic within themselves, and we need to celebrate that magic. Ensuring that they have a space to come together once they leave the Hilltop is important to me. 

When I was at school, the Black community was very tight; there was always a meeting spot for us. We always had these places to come together, but the reality is, while we are all Georgetown alums, we aren’t monolithic. I think the creation of the Black Alumni Council was a huge milestone.

Also, being asked to serve on the Working Group on Slavery, Memory, and Reconciliation was a great point of pride for me. I’d always known that the Jesuits owned slaves—it was part of the Georgetown bicentennial presentation when I was a student—but the depth of that connection was not fully known. I think that work illuminated the courage of the university to deal with that question the way that they did. I’m still quite proud of the mandate to actually dig deep to find out exactly what happened. Now we know the truth.

Are you an optimist about Georgetown?

I think Georgetown has unlimited potential. We are leaders in ethical endeavors, whether it’s entrepreneurship for the common good, the ethics of morality and AI, or any problem that the world is facing. We are creating a template of dealing with those problems in a way that is most ethically sustainable for the future. I think Georgetown will continue to be at the vanguard of solving the world’s problems.

 There probably isn’t a week that goes by that my affinity for Georgetown doesn’t show itself. I may have attended another graduate school in New York City, but when someone asks “where’d you go to school?,” my answer is always Georgetown. When I look at my closet, there’s always Georgetown swag. My affinity for Georgetown is ever present. When I land at National Airport and get in the cab on my way across the river, I feel like I’m coming home. My pride in being a Hoya knows no bounds. My pride for the blue and gray is undying.

In recognition of his achievements and service, Woods received the John Carroll Award in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on April 5, 2025. The John Carroll Award is named for Archbishop John Carroll, the first Catholic bishop in North America and founder of Georgetown University. Established in 1951, this award is conferred upon alumni whose achievements and record of service exemplify the ideals and traditions of Georgetown and its founder.