Born and raised in Calgary, Holliston (Holly) is honoured to call Calgary home. Holly is a member of the Metis Nation of Alberta, and has a proud Saulteaux-Scottish heritage. Holly attended the University of Calgary, where after many degree changes she found her passion and graduated with a B.Sc. in Psychology. She continues to be involved in psychology research at the Addictive Behaviours Laboratory at the University of Calgary, where she is currently researching lay epidemiological perspectives of video game addictions.
Currently, Holly works as a Charity Relations Coordinator, Lead at Benevity – a locally founded B-Corporation. As a Charity Relations Coordinator, Holly assists charities world-wide in building relationships with a network of corporate giving, matching, and volunteering programs. She is passionate about supporting the non-profit sector, and has experience working within various non-profits herself, including the Native Ambassador Post-Secondary Initiative (N.A.P.I. Program), and Wellspring Calgary.
In her free time, Holly volunteers with a variety of charitable organizations around Calgary. She currently sits as a member of the Board of Directors at Pathways Community Services Association, and as the Social Media Team Lead for the Firefighter Stairclimb Challenge Committee at Wellspring Calgary. In her down time, you can often find Holly curled up under a blanket watching Netflix and crocheting.
Through Next Up, Holly hopes to explore the many diverse social and environmental issues facing our communities today, and intertwine these learnings into her current community involvements.`