Holly Hazard

Class of 1984 · Washington, DC

Chief Innovations Officer, The Humane Society of the United States

Holly graduated cum laude from Ohio University with a bachelor of arts degree in economics. Prior to law school she worked as an economist for the U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, where she analyzed market data for the petroleum and explosives industry for the Producer Price Index, and compiled employment data by occupation for the Office of Employment Statistics.

During her years at William & Mary Law School, Holly volunteered with the Literacy Council of Northern Virginia where she taught English to immigrant adults, and interned at The Battered Women’s Shelter in Williamsburg. She worked as a summer law clerk for the Natural Resources Defense Council after her 2L year.

Following law school she was Washington representative and legislative counsel for the Friends of Animals Committee for Humane Legislation. In 1986 she co-founded a law firm, Galvin, Stanley & Hazard, which was featured in the National Law Journal in the spring of 1990 for its work in public interest animal protection law. Holly was the executive director from mid-1987 to August 2006 for the Doris Day Animal League, a national lobbying league with more than 330,000 members. She served concurrently as executive director of the Doris Day Animal Foundation, where she was responsible for all programs, administration, and fundraising for the national nonprofit organization which has a $3 million budget and more than 100,000 members.

In 2006, Holly was named chief innovations officer for The Humane Society of the United States. As CIO, her primary focus is developing new initiatives for HSUS, and cultivating strategic opportunities for the organization, with a particular focus on corporate partnerships. In a volunteer capacity, Holly also serves as vice president of GeesePeace, a nonprofit, all-volunteer organization founded to promote effective, humane solutions to wildlife conflicts that strengthen communities, has served on the board of the Washington Humane Society for more than 20 years, and also served twice as president of the PTA for her children’s schools.

The experience at Marshall-Wythe (William & Mary Law School) was rich and broad enough to have provided a foundation for a variety of experiences in my professional life. From lobbyist to law partner to executive director, my training in legal analysis, writing and critical thinking, skills taught in every class, has provided a strong building block for a successful career.