Holly Evans

Holly Evans joined the First Five Years Fund (FFYF) in 2024 as a Policy & Research Analyst. In this position, Holly researches federal early care and education policies and drafts news reports and resources to support advocacy efforts.

Prior to FFYF, Holly attended Bryn Mawr College where she graduated with honors in sociology and with a political science and philosophy double minor. The majority of her studies focused on inequities in access, specifically access to education. Her thesis was about the gender disparity in diagnosis of childhood and adolescent ADHD. She examined the biases and shortcomings of the education and medical systems in order to better understand the root causes of this disparity. Through this project, she developed a richer understanding for the importance of early care and education on an individual’s development and early intervention for developmental delays. 

After graduation, Holly continued her focus on early care and education through her work at the Policy Equity Group where she assisted with policy research and report writing to support key projects like Pre K for All, Farm to ECE, literacy initiatives, as well as other important early childhood and education initiatives.

Holly’s passion for early care and education began in her childhood as she grew up watching and assisting her Nana’s home-based child care center in rural North Carolina. To Holly, her Nana exemplified the strength and selflessness caregivers possess and the memory of her Nana’s story inspires her each day to work to uplift the early care workers who have supported all of us for generations.