Holly (they/them) joined GWI in March 2025 as our Development Manager. They bring curiosity, care, and a deep commitment to community-centered change to their work. As parent, creative spirit, and lifelong connector, they have spent their career helping mission-aligned organizations access the resources they need to thrive. Drawing on experiences as an activist, small business owner, photographer, and fundraiser, Holly is passionate about building relationships that support a more just and equitable future. Grounded in connection and creativity, they help ensure that the transformative work in our communities has the resources it needs not just to take root, but to grow.
Who is Holly?
Holly is a parent, a friend, and ponderer, a listener, and a lover of cozy blankets. They’re binational and spent their childhood between England and Wisconsin. They’ve lived on Munsee/Lenape land for the past decade.
Holly pursues passions: they’ve been a milliner, a sweet shop owner, an activist, and a photographer. Their most consistent professional love is connecting resources with mission aligned organizations, work they’re delighted to continue at GWI. Their current source of joy is creating arts and crafts and singing along to musicals with their little one. Holly’s friendships are the heartbeat of their life.
Holly joins the Good Work Institute with appreciation for the intentionality behind envisioning a more just society. As we live in uncertain times, they find comfort in this beacon of hope for our future.
What brings you joy?
Cooling down in an outdoor natural body of water on a hot summer day.
Arranging the tea selection at the Greenhouse and then making you the perfect cup of tea.
The smell of leaves decaying as crisp autumn mornings take hold.
Finding balance in life. Slowing down when necessary.
Getting lost in an audiobook (96 last year)!
Overhearing my little one’s heartfelt explosive laugh.
Deep heart conversations with high trust people.
Singing in community.
What excites you about being part of the team at GWI?
I’m skeptical of the typical nonprofit structure and its inherent hierarchy after my previous experiences in the sector. At GWI, the org and my colleagues challenge assumptions about power and hierarchy. It’s so refreshing and I’m grateful to be in this iterative process with these people, doing this work.
Also-
I’m so grateful in this moment, when so much of our lives is impacted by late stage capitalism and the cruelty of the world, to be somewhere that centers care and connection in service of needed radical change. I feel deeply personally held by GWI, and I’m thankful that I’m able to support the work that allows others to feel that too.
When someone asks you, “What do you do?”, how do you explain your Good Work?
At GWI we support folks with community-focussed ideas so they can turn them into a reality. We provide the space, access to resources, and tools so people can work together, work through inevitable conflict, and center social equity while doing so. I help by connecting GWI with financial resources so this work can happen! I write grants and assist the whole team with their fundraising efforts.
