Holly Holzer is career Foreign Service Officer who most recently served as Director for Third Country Operations for the Coordinator for Afghanistan Relocation Efforts at the Department of State. Her team managed the care and movement of individuals once they departed Afghanistan and coordinated their onward travel to the United States.
Prior to this she was the Consul for Political and Economic Affairs at the U.S. Consulate General Milan. Ms. Holzer was NATO’s Deputy Senior Civilian Representative as part of NATO’s Resolute Support Mission in Afghanistan and as a Rule of Law Advisor for USAID. While in Afghanistan, she focused on increasing women’s involvement and influence in government, with a focus on the justice sector and the peace process. She has served in Nepal, Eritrea, Azerbaijan, Turkey, and Georgia. On assignment in Washington, she served as the Deputy Director in the Office of Iranian Affairs, as a Senior Advisor to the Coordinator for Cyber Issues, and in the Operations Center.
In 2019, the American University in Afghanistan conveyed Ms. Holzer an Honorary Doctor of Arts and Humane Letters for her lifelong public service and work with vulnerable and at risk populations.
A lover of the arts and a photographer, Ms. Holzer has engaged emerging artists forced from their homes due to conflict, war, and persecution to create economic and artistic opportunities. She has a Master of Arts in Social Work and prior to joining the Department of State, she was a social worker for families in crisis. She lives with her Foreign Service spouse and their Georgian street dog Tako.