Long before Erin Dixson Levzow became a nationally recognized marketing executive and podcast host, she was just a girl from Byron with a deep love of dance, a flair for the dramatic, and a stubborn insistence on belonging—even when she didn’t quite feel like she did.

She grew up in Nordic Woods, where her parents still live. Her dad remains a fixture at Byron sporting events and the local PE center. Erin’s Byron years were filled with Key Club, theater, and dance team—she was captain her senior year. She performed in musicals under the mentorship of Dan Danielowski, a beloved teacher who not only encouraged her artistry, but also showed her that it’s okay to fail in public—and try again anyway.

But as connected as she was to her school, Erin often felt like an outsider. “Middle school was brutal,” she remembers. “I remember finally getting invited to sit at the popular table, and when I got there, they said, ‘Just kidding.’ That moment sticks with you.”

Rather than retreat, she leaned in—toward inclusion, compassion, and eventually, influence.

She studied theater at Illinois State University, where she discovered a love for storytelling, writing monologues, and eventually…marketing. After college, she set her sights on Los Angeles, but made it as far as Las Vegas, where she worked her way from box office supervisor to house manager at Bally’s Paris Rio, and then into corporate training at Caesars Entertainment.

That’s where things took off—and then fell apart.

The Great Recession hit. Erin lost her job.

The recruiter asked, “What do you know about internet marketing?”

“I have the Facebook,” Erin replied.

She started at the bottom—coordinator level—and worked her way into rooms where she didn’t yet belong. “I said yes to everything. Need someone to click through the PowerPoint deck? I’ll do it. Just get me in the room.”

Her talent caught fire. She became a rising star, eventually taking leadership roles at MGM Resorts, Wingstop, Freebirds, and Marcus Hotels & Resorts, where she helped open St. Kate: The Arts Hotel, one of the only hotels in the U.S. with a working black-box theater. “We served a welcome drink called Kate’s Kiss,” she grins. “It was all about building experiences that felt like performance.”

Her life has had more acts than most: She helped take Wingstop public, built a loyalty program at Del Taco, and became CMO of the Museum of Ice Cream. Along the way, she raised three children—Kai, Kenzy, and Liam—and danced competitively with them in ballroom competitions. She even launched her own hit podcast, Byte Sized & Bossy, spotlighting women in the restaurant industry.

But the most pivotal moment came not in a boardroom—but at home. In 2022, her husband fell 16 feet over a banister, suffered massive brain injuries, and was declared clinically dead—until he moved his hand just before time of death was called.

He lived. But life changed.

Erin paused everything. She stayed by his side, documented the experience on CaringBridge, and quietly renegotiated her employment to preserve healthcare benefits. “I learned that you can’t lead if you’re not whole,” she says.

Today, Erin lives outside Milwaukee and consults for multiple companies. She mentors young women, serves on boards, and shares her story widely. “I’ve been through a lot. But I still walk into the room. I still raise my hand.”

Her message for Byron students?

“Say yes. Even if you're scared. Especially if you’re scared. Get in the room. Get messy. Then help someone else find their way in, too.”

She knows what it’s like to be on the outside looking in.

Now she makes room at the table for everyone.