Holly Low

WORK HISTORY

EDUCATION

SKILLS

ABOUT HOLLY LOW

People deserve to feel seen, heard, and supported when they turn to their government for help.\"- Leilani MartinezAs Director of Strategic Outreach & Partnerships for the NJ Department of Labor & Workforce Development, my policy expertise includes paid leave, work rights, care workforce, equitable implementation, and human-centered design. Since 2018 my work has helped increase access to work rights, paid leave, and pandemic unemployment benefits for millions of residents, and made them feel more seen, heard and supported, through language access, community partnership and projects that center human experience to improve government services. Initiatives I’m most proud of include building a statewide grant program to fund community-based outreach and education; launching digital tools to improve paid leave benefits delivery with the Office of Innovation; collaborating with the Department of Human Services to launch NJ’s first federally-registered early childhood apprenticeship program; and creating a paid leave navigator pilot to help families access their benefits. I’ve represented New Jersey on panels for senior White House officials and Congressional lawmakers, served on an expert panel for a US Women’s Bureau paid leave study, and led research on paid leave awareness and uptake in New Jersey to inform outreach and benefits delivery.Prior to joining state government, I worked with grassroots environmental justice organizations where I learned that lived experience and community leadership must be at the forefront of our policy conversations for lasting change. I believe rebuilding trust in government through human-centered policy implementation, in partnership with our communities, is one of the most important tasks we can undertake for our democracy.