Strategic Manager, Business Developer, Public Speaker, Delightful Human
Holly Karr, MBA
Experienced leader in the defense and technology sectors with a passion for driving strategic growth, Holly brings entrepreneurial thinking and deep DoD knowledge to develop and implement innovative solutions. She has the proven ability to lead teams, build strong business relationships, and deliver profitable results.
Experience
DoD Contract Program Manager
Agile Coach
Non-Profit Director
Grant Writer
Technical Writer
Copywriter
Business Owner
and Developer
Scrum Master
Capture Strategist
Full-Stack Web Developer
Chair of Board
of Directors
Public Speaker
Technical Trainer
Contract/Proposal
Manager
Legal Admin
Multimedia Designer
Volunteer
Exec Core
Holly Karr is an executive-level professional in all the areas that matter to your business:
- Leading Change
- Leading People
- Results Driven
- Business Acumen
- Building Coalitions
- Business Development 90%
- Program Management 95%
- Organizational Transformation 90%
- Delightful Human 99.9%
KSAs
Knowledge
- DoD acquisition
- Budgeting
- Contract vehicles and colors of money
- Proposal, Contract, and Grant Writing
- Risk and opportunity management
- Earned Value Management
- Business Acumen
- Program management principles, policies, and practices
- Agile methodologies
- Organizational Transformation and Change Management
Skills
- Technical: MS Office 365, Atlassian
- Cross-Functional Team Leadership
- Project/Program Management
- Contract Lifecycle Management
- Partnership Management
- Analysis
- Problem-Solving
- Communication
- Mentorship
- Community Engagement
- Event Management
Abilities
- Strategic thinking and planning
- New Business Development
- People management
- Business optimization
- Customer Value Management
- Velocity monitoring and improvement
- Process improvement
- Time management
- Organizational skills
- Public Speaking
- Conference Booth Attendance Boosters
- Independent work and initiative
Certifications & Training
- Project Management Professional (PMP): PMI, 2022
- Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA): PMI, 2023
- Risk Management Professional (PMI-RMP): PMI, 2024
- ITIL v4 Foundation: Axelos, 2024
- Security+ CE: CompTIA, 2022
- SAFe Scrum Master, SAFe Foundation, 2022
- Agile Scrum Leadership: Int’l Scrum Institute, 2024
- DevOps Executive Leadership: DevOps Institute, 2023
- Lean Six Sigma White Belt: Six Sigma Online, 2025
- APMP Bid & Proposal Writing: APMP, 2025
- Certified DevOps Project Manager: Int’l DevOps Academy, 2024
- Certified in Cybersecurity (CC): ISC2, 2024
- Scrum Trainer: Int’l Scrum Institute, 2024
- Organizational Transformation Orchestration (OTO): PMI, 2024
- Dec 2023- PMI: Professional in Business Analysis (PMI-PBA); Organizational Transformation Organization (OTF); and Implementation (OTI)
- Professional Agile Leadership: Evidence-Based Management (PAL-EBM): Scrum.org, 2023
- Certified DevOps Executive: Int’l DevOps Academy, 2023
- Accredited Certified Agile Coach: Int’l Scrum Institute, 2023
- Agile Scrum Leadership Executive: Int’l Scrum Institute, 2022
- Certified Kanban Project Manager: Int’l Organization for Project Management, 2022
- Accredited Program Manager (APM): Int’l Organization for Project Management, 2022
Training:
- 2025 (LinkedIn/Udemy) AI Strategy for Business
- 2025: (PMI) Intro to Cognitive Project Management in AI
- 2024: Defense Acquisition University (DAU) Training: PMT 0120 Program Scheduling; ETM 1020 Mission and Systems Thinking Fundamentals; CLE 019 Modular Open Systems Approach; CLM 093 Integrated Risk Management; CLE 076 Intro to Agile Software Development; PMT 0130 Work-Breakdown Structure; CLM 094 Integrated Master Scheduling; ACQ0500 NDAA and DoD5000; ACQ0040 Acquisition Ethics
Community Engagement
- 2024-2026 Okaloosa County Patriot Park Creation Committee: Member
- Dog-Harmony Inc. Board of Directors, Chair (June 2024-present)
- Community Solutions of the Emerald Coast Board of Directors, Vice President (2021-present)
- Emerald Coast Science Center Board of Directors (2021-present)
- 100+ Women Who Care Emerald Coast member (2021-present)
- Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce (GFWBC) Board of Directors (2023-2025 term)
- Member of TeCMEN Industry Day Planning Committee (2020-2025)
- One Okaloosa EDC’s 2022-2023 Technology Coast Manufacturing and Engineering Network (TeCMEN) Committee Chair
- 2022 Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber Ambassador Committee Chair
- Leadership Okaloosa Graduate: 2021- 2022
- Volunteer web developer
- Volunteer robotics competition judge
- Volunteer STEM and web development instructor
- Emerald Coast Science Center Homeschool Science Fair Judge
- Kids Hope USA / Porter FBC Program Director and Mentor 2012-2017
Awards
-
Greater Fort Walton Beach Chamber of Commerce
- 2023 Woman of Honor Award, with public plaque: Okaloosa County Commission on the Status of Women
- 2020-2022 GFWBC Awards: Q3 Ambassador of the Quarter; Above and Beyond Award; and Ambassador of the Year
Play the Hire Holly Game
Holly will help your business succeed as you run through the challenges of unhappy customers, no contracts, market positioning, collecting partners, and making as much $$ as you can!
I made this game with the help of GDev, AI for the music and my character, and the quiet of a long weekend. I hope you enjoy it!