About Holly

I grew up in small-town America and eventually spent nearly twenty-five years as a CIA operations officer working in some of the most complex environments in the world.

Those two worlds ~ small-town roots and global intelligence work ~ shaped how I see leadership, relationships, and performance.

At the CIA, the work required learning to understand people quickly, build trust across cultures, and navigate high-stakes situations where relationships often mattered more than strategy.

Over time, I also had the opportunity to coach and develop leaders inside the Agency ~ helping high-performing professionals navigate demanding roles while staying grounded in who they were.

Working in those environments reinforced something I now see across many high-performing fields: it’s easy to lose ourselves in the pursuit of performance, forgetting who we are as we focus on what we do. The better we stay connected to ourselves, the better we show up for others.

During my career I was honored as CIA’s “Operative of the Year” in my division, a recognition that reflected the importance of trust, relationships, and teamwork in the work we did.

Some of the most meaningful leadership lessons I’ve learned didn’t come from intelligence work, but from the sidelines of athletic fields.

For decades, I have coached student-athletes, watching young people grow into leaders through discipline, teamwork, and belief in themselves. Sports remain one of the most powerful classrooms for learning how to handle pressure, setbacks, and success with humility.

I am also the mother of three, including two collegiate athletes and a high schooler. Parenting has reinforced the same truth I saw in intelligence work: people perform best when they feel supported, understood, and connected to who they are.

Whether in intelligence, athletics, or family life, the underlying lesson is the same: identity and connection shape how we lead and how we perform.