Holly Nielson joined the USC Wrigley Institute in 2015 as Administrative Assistant of the Wrigley Marine Science Center. She has since been promoted to Associate Director for Business Strategy and Finance. As a member of the Senior Leadership Team, Holly provides financial frameworks and uses data analytics to inform and guide strategic initiatives, ensuring efforts are financially sound and executed to best use limited resources.

Prior to her role at the USC Wrigley Institute, Holly worked with nonprofit organizations, including Junior Achievement, Huntsman Cancer Institute, Special Olympics, and Boy Scouts of America. She holds a B.S. in Elementary Education from the University of Utah and spent the beginning of her career working as an educator in Title I schools within urban Salt Lake City in her home state of Utah. She earned her MBA and Graduate Certificate in Strategy & Management Consulting from the USC Marshall School of Business in 2022. Her capstone project focused on major drivers of change in the global economy and involved consulting with top Chinese and Japanese executives on the challenges their companies currently face.

Holly lives with her husband Butch in Two Harbors. In her free time, she enjoys traveling to new destinations, scuba diving, hiking, and sharing the beauty of her island home with friends and loved ones.