Erik J. Arroyo is a City Commissioner and current Mayor for the City of Sarasota. He also practices law at the firm of Band, Gates & Dramis, focusing on business, corporate, and estate planning, focusing on family foundations. However, he comes from humble beginnings. Born in the Dominican Republic and raised by a single mother, Erik went to the United States as a teenager and met his wife locally at Riverview High School. From having no indoor air conditioning or warm running water to being the first in his family to graduate high school, Erik feels truly blessed to be living the American Dream.

Erik’s business practice includes counseling business owners on entity formation, funding, capital, and organizational structures, mergers, joint ventures, divestitures, acquisitions, and equity-owner agreements. Whether he assists a start-up venture, an established family foundation, or a corporation that employs hundreds, Erik’s enterprising approach to his practice of law offers his clients keen insights into the governance, legal, and business issues.

Erik’s experience working with individuals and families in his estate planning practice involves executing strategies to assist clients in mitigating taxes, preserving wealth, protecting assets, transferring wealth to their heirs, beneficiaries, or charitable causes, and serving as an independent trustee and fiduciary for trusts and private foundations.

Due to his extensive experience, Erik is a diversely skilled, award-winning executive leader and counsel offering years of experience in strategic planning, policy and budget development, and operational leadership for high profile trusts, corporations, businesses, private foundations, and not- for-profit organizations. Adept at facilitating growth by developing various levels of the organization and building cohesive teams. He can collaborate effectively with senior management to align defined objectives and achieve mission-critical results. With his advanced training in board governance, he frequently gives presentations on various topics such as leadership development, optimization strategies, and corporate management for growing organizations. His ability to drive cross-functional collaboration and facilitate a harmonious team environment conducive to organizational efficiencies and overall metric improvements has enabled him to give back to this community he holds very dear. Erik and his wife Victoria, a history teacher at Sarasota High School, have a one-year-old daughter named Ava and plan to reside locally for the rest of their lives.