Holly Kuzmich

Holly serves as a Senior Advisor to the Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation. As a former Managing Director, Holly played a lead role in increasing the Foundation’s presence, portfolio investments, and donor partnerships in Texas and the Southwest region. Holly currently serves on the board of DRK grantees Lone Star Justice Alliance, Texas Water Trade, and The Oakland REACH.

Holly has nearly 30 years of public policy and leadership experience, serving in senior positions in the government, non-profit, and private sectors. She serves as the Michael L. Smith Managing Director of the Wilson Sheehan Lab for Economic Opportunities at the University of Notre Dame, which conducts impact evaluations that identify the innovative, effective, and scalable programs and policies that help people move permanently out of poverty.  Prior to her current role, she was the Executive Director of the George W. Bush Institute, a solution-oriented nonpartisan policy organization focused on ensuring opportunity, strengthening democracy, and advancing free societies. 

She is a veteran of the White House, U.S. Department of Education, and Capitol Hill, where she developed her expertise in education policy. She served on the White House Domestic Policy Council staff and as Deputy Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary for Legislation and Congressional Affairs at the U.S. Department of Education. Prior to that, she worked for two United States Senators on domestic policy issues. She has also consulted on education and workforce issues with major foundations, companies, nonprofits, and policymakers.

She served as a Resident Fellow at the Institute of Politics at Harvard Kennedy School, is a Pahara Institute Fellow, and a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network. She serves on the boards of the Gates Policy Initiative, and the Dallas Assembly, and she is an alumnus of the Texas Lyceum. Holly is a graduate of Northwestern University.