After 25 years at BJC, Holly Hollman is leaving her role as chief legal officer at the Washington, D.C., nonprofit.
Hollman is one of the longest-serving staff members at the Baptist Joint Committee for Religious Liberty. She has worked alongside two executive directors, Brent Walker and Amanda Tyler, and also has carried the title of associate executive director.
BJC is a coalition organization that speaks to religious liberty and First Amendment causes in the nation’s capital.
Holly Hollman
Hollman has provided legal analysis of church-state issues that arise before Congress, the courts and administrative agencies. Her work included preparing friend-of-the-court briefs, issue briefings for congressional staff and presentations for research institutions and religious groups.
She has consulted with churches, individuals and organizations about religious liberty issues and written a column for BJC’s magazine, Report from the Capital. She is the co-host of BJC’s “Respecting Religion” podcast.
Hollman also serves as an adjunct professor of law at the Georgetown University Law Center, where she co-teaches the Church-State Law Seminar.
Prior to her work at BJC, Hollman was an attorney in private practice specializing in employment law and litigation. She practiced in firms in Nashville and the District of Columbia. She is a member of the District of Columbia, U.S. Supreme Court and state of Tennessee bars.
Hollman earned a bachelor of arts degree in politics from Wake Forest University and a juris doctorate from the University of Tennessee College of Law.
“Holly’s remarkable career with BJC leaves us a north star for what excellent legal advocacy for religious freedom for all looks like,” Tyler said. “After Holly’s last day on BJC staff on Aug. 7, I will step into the role of leading BJC’s legal work on an interim basis, working with BJC’s policy counsel, David Segal.
“In the coming months, we will hire another lawyer to join our team. In the meantime, you can expect BJC’s unwavering voice for religious freedom for all to be active in the courts, legislatures and other government bodies across the country — just as it has for 90 years and as it will continue to do for the next 90 years and beyond,” she said.
Hollman wrote on the BJC website today she is leaving “with deep gratitude” and that “now is the right time for something new.”
“I first learned about religious freedom, including how freedom and responsibility go together, in a caring Baptist congregation. After college, I had formative experiences — including a BJC internship — working with lawyers who litigated cases and lobbied for changes in the law. I became a lawyer to develop the skills that would allow me to do the same. When BJC was looking for a new general counsel in 2001, I wasn’t sure it was the right time. I had new family obligations that made leaving private practice seem risky. But I took the leap, and I’m so grateful I did.”