Holly C. Holzer

Holly Holzer is the Senior U.S. Coordinator for Lawful Migration and leads the U.S. Lawful Migration Task Force. Most recently she served as Deputy Director of the Secretary of State’s Policy and Planning Staff. Following the collapse of the Government of Afghanistan, she led the creation of the Department of State office to continue the relocation of Afghans at-risk to the United States.

She has served in Afghanistan as NATO’s Deputy Senior Civilian Representative and in Nepal, Eritrea, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Italy, and Georgia. On assignments in Washington, she was Deputy Director in the Office of Iranian Affairs, Senior Advisor to the Coordinator for Cyber Issues, and worked in the Operations Center. She also worked as the Rule of Law Advisor for USAID in Afghanistan.

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 is married to a fellow U.S. diplomat.