Nice to meet you

I remember graduating from UCLA wondering what on earth I would actually DO with the new major in Sociology and a minor in Psychology I’d just gotten. Weirdly - or maybe not so weirdly - everything I do now stems and connects back to it.

Meaning, the desire to understand: what makes us tick? What motivates us? What’s important to us and were we handed those values or did we consciously choose them?

And, more interesting, how do we evolve? How do we align ourselves to the values we choose?

I realized the part of me that changed my major from theater, then to film before feeling at home in Sociology and Psych classes was the same part of me that loved improv class. I had started studying “for fun” at The Groundlings in LA when, before long, I discovered my hobby was in fact what I was meant to be doing all along.

If you study improv long enough, you’ll see it’s much more than an entertaining format that rivals stand-up. It, itself, is a process of becoming more conscious, aware, and creating from a free, fearless part of each of us. Sure, at first you may discover it in fits and starts in a beginner class, but soon it has the power to transform who you are.

You are forced at some point to drop all the B.S. - the insecurity, the false personalities, the control, the selfish motives, the unselfish habits of putting everyone else first, the competition - and just BE. Be who you are, as you are, realizing that THAT part of you is exactly 100% all that is needed.

Improv is a dynamic tool that belongs not just to theater people or comedy people…it is a powerful means of transformation for businesses, for all creative endeavors, and for unlocking and unleashing untapped potentials in everyone.

I’ve seen it with my own eyes over and over, and experienced it in my own life.

Improv has became a lightning rod for everything I wanted to do, create, teach and collaborate in. I have found that its principles show up with different names (spiritual work, evolutionary theories) and are used in all sorts of ways, but in the end, it all leads back to the same basic principles that you learn in the first few months of any decent improv training.

Underneath all that I do - my corporate improv company, my coaching & consulting, and my work with women around gendered “shoulds”, leadership, and confidence -
I love inspiring people to grow.

To let go. Trust. Learn. Listen. Become who they want to become. Create what they've dreamed of creating. Find new ways to collaborate with other like-minded people to build something that's more expansive than the sum of its parts.

You want to make more impact. In your life. In your work. In the world.
I get it. And I can help.

All About Holly

  • I have a double major in Sociology and Psychology from UCLA.

    I studied Organizational Development with Ken WIlber’s INTEGRAL INSTITUTE, Brian Robertson’s New Management System HOLACRACY, Don Beck’s SPIRAL DYNAMICS, Donny Epstein’s EPI-ENERGETICS, and Sallie Holder’s Business Development THE BRIMM.

  • I studied improv at the world renowned GROUNDLINGS THEATER & SCHOOL in Los Angeles. I then became a Main Company member, preforming regularly for over 6 years.

    I became a senior instructor there, as well as a Main Stage director.

    I studied extensively with Jeff Micahlski of Chicago’s SECOND CITY and Stan Wells of LA’s EMPTY STAGE THEATER.

    I’ve studied LE COQ (physical theater) with Norman Taylor and Narrative Improv with IMPRO in Los Angeles.

    I’ve studied the SPOLIN METHOD with Aretha Sills.

  • I founded and ran the first woman-owned and operated improv school in NYC in 2002.

    I created the BFA Comedy Studies Program for PACE UNIVERSITY in NYC.

    I started the first female-owned corporate consultancy using improv in NYC in 2011.

    I have worked with some of the largest international companies, delivering improv to groups from 10 to 1,000.

    I have delivered keynotes on topics such as THE BENEFITS OF IMPROV FOR BUSINESS and GOOD GIRLS AREN’T CEOs around the globe.

    I have given my original talk, GOOD GIRLS AREN’T FUNNY, around the world — London, Bristol, Copenhagen, Sydney, Melbourne — as well as across the USA. I have also run workshops aligned with the talk to thousands of women.

    I have been a featured guest on multiple podcasts, speaking about the power of translating improv beyond the theater as a catalyst for profound change in people and in culture itself; on women’s leadership and confidence, and how improv plays a vital role in women tapping into an authentic source of confidence using improv.

  • I am the founder and CEO of IMERGENCE, a corporate consultancy using improv to help companies grow and thrive with a “yes, and” mindset.

    I am a professor at Pace University in NYC, teaching improv (all levels) and sketch comedy writing in the BFA Performing Arts School.

    I am a private executive coach, helping clients develop confidence, decisiveness, leadership skills authentically.

    I perform improv regularly in NYC and LA, and am part of a collective of improv artists creating original shows.

    I am writing a book on THE IMPROV ZONE to be published in Fall 2025.

Let’s chat!

I can tell you more about what I do and you can tell me more about what you’re ready for.