Holly carries her spiritual values into her work environment, hoping to make a difference in the lives of Chicago's urban youth. She is currently the Program Coordinator for Saturday College and UIC/CPS Summer Prep for grades four through eight.

Holly has a Bachelor of the Arts in English and a Minor in Communications from the University of Illinois at Chicago. She is seeking a Masters in Education.

As a student, Holly was heavily involved in campus activities. She participated in the 1st Annual Miss Nubia Pageant for African-American females and was selected as the 2nd runner-up. She tutored for the UIC Writing Center, where she impacted many first year students who had difficulty writing research. She became a staff writere for the UIC Today. Her voice was heard as a UIC Senator through many meetings with the Committee on Educational Policy. Holly participated in UIC's Liberal Arts and Sciences Cooperative Internship Program, where she interned in Marketing with Mack and Parker, Inc. and in Commincations with the Chicago Area Council Boy Scouts of America. In her spare time, she tutored sixth through eigth grade students of the Bronzeville community in Reading and Math with low scores on the CPS IOWA and IGAP tests under Ada S. McKinley's Youth Academic Program.

Holly began her career as a Learning for Life Executive of the Champions Special Needs program at the Chicago Area Council Boy Scouts of America, assisting over 2,500 special needs students in public and private schools, ranging from the developmental disabilities to learning disabilities, within the Chicagoland area.

At the young age of 24, the destiny of Holly J. Woods is to make a strong impact on Chicago's urban youth through educational programs.