Holly’s creative “Maker” spirit, broad STEM knowledge, and Research and Development experience has enabled her to think outside of the norm to tackle big picture issues using technology, leading her to the role as Director of Science & Innovation at the Ulnooweg Education Centre.

Holly holds a Masters of Science in Mechanical Engineering from California State University Los Angeles, specializing in the Dynamics, Estimation, Control and Simulation of Autonomous Systems. As a founding member of CSULA’s Robotics Lab, her R&D work in the field consisted of areas of Aerospace and Robotics applications such as: Dynamic Soaring and Biomimetics, control algorithms for Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (SUAVs) mimicking the behavior of energy efficient birds; Teleoperated Robotics Applications; and Swarm Intelligence Applications for Planetary Exploration.

While in California from 2007 to 2018, Holly also spent her time outside of her research career spreading her passion for STEM through teaching introductory Engineering classes at CSULA, and developing and delivery many volunteer programs for Chicano/Chicana youth in Los Angeles.

As a Les Vadasz Engineering Fellow, Holly briefly conducted simulation and control research for McGill university and CM labs before returning to Halifax to join the Ulnooweg Team in January of 2020. She began her journey at Ulnooweg developing and facilitating the delivery of robotics and engineering programs for the Digital Mi’kmaq (DM) initiative. At the onset of COVID, she used her technical skillset to assist the organization in pivoting the DM initiative into the Ulnooweg Education Centre, developing and managing several initiatives ranging from cutting edge technology in Agriculture, to the creation of unique and ground-breaking Educational Resources.

She leads the Science & Innovation, and Agriculture teams in building opportunities and pathways to STEM for Indigenous communities by amplifying the boundless potential of Indigenous youth for the careers and businesses of the future.