--- description: Find out how Erika Kirk is shaping the future and defining the next generation of leadership. title: Erika Kirk Is on the 2025 TIME100 Next image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91f42947172586e9/6998ca06a97fc0f48ca74b03/t100-next-2025-erika-kirk.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- Sep 30, 2025 # Erika Kirk by [Nik Popli](/author/nik-popli/) ## Nik Popli Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Staff Writer  Win McNamee—Getty Images Few would have faulted Erika Kirk if she had stood before tens of thousands at her husband’s memorial and demanded retribution. Instead, 11 days after Charlie Kirk was assassinated while speaking at a university, his 36-year-old widow offered something rare in today’s politics: forgiveness. “I forgive him because it was what Christ did and is what Charlie would do,” she said of the shooter. “The answer to hate is not hate. The answer we know from the Gospel is love and always love.” Her words may frame the future of the organization her husband launched as a teen and built into a political powerhouse mobilizing young conservatives across the country. Along the way, Erika Kirk emerged as an influential voice for that same audience. With his death, the Turning Point USA board named her CEO and chair. “Every part of our work will become greater,” she vowed. Now raising two young children without her husband, what Erika Kirk models to America’s political leadership is the strength of resilience and grace. Erika Kirk: TIME100 Next 2025 ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318829/erika-kirk/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318829/erika-kirk/"},"headline":"Erika Kirk","datePublished":"2025-09-30T10:57:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-03-03T00:55:11.188Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318829/erika-kirk/","keywords":["TIME100 Next","sponsorshipblock","t100nextleaders25"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91f42947172586e9/6998ca06a97fc0f48ca74b03/t100-next-2025-erika-kirk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nik Popli","jobTitle":"Staff Writer","url":"https://time.com/author/nik-popli/"}],"creator":"Nik Popli","articleSection":"World","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt91f42947172586e9/6998ca06a97fc0f48ca74b03/t100-next-2025-erika-kirk.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/world/","name":"World"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time100-next/","name":"TIME100 Next"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collections/time100-next-2025/7318829/erika-kirk/","name":"Erika Kirk"}}]}] ```