Partnership Team

Holly Heard serves as the Senior Vice President of Research at the greater Houston Partnership. In this role, Holly will lead our Research Division, ensuring the continued delivery of high-quality, timely research and analysis to advance our mission. While the Research Division will maintain our strong tradition of analysis of Houston’s economy, the team will continue to expand its scope to provide deeper, strategic support across the organization and for our members.

Holly brings more than two decades of experience in data strategy and analysis. Prior to joining the Partnership, Holly served as the Vice President of Data and Analytics for Texas 2036, leading a team that developed tools to benchmark Texas’ progress and inform strategic decision-making for leaders across the state. The Partnership has worked closely with Texas 2036 on a number of issues, most recently on water infrastructure funding and public school accountability in this year’s legislative session.

Prior to Texas 2036, Holly served in several key roles at the Houston Education Research Consortium (HERC) at Rice University, where she oversaw a number of major research projects. She also served as an assistant professor of sociology at both Rice University and Arizona State University.

Holly holds a Ph.D. in Sociology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, an M.A. in Sociology and Demography from Penn State, and a B.A. in Sociology and Psychology from Notre Dame.