Meet Holly Cruz

Born in Germany where her father was stationed in the US Army, Holly lived in England until age 4 when her family relocated to northern Virginia. The only girl of 5 children, Holly stepped in to help care for her younger twin brothers who were both diagnosed with autism. Seeing the positive influence of education on her brothers’ lives, and being the daughter of a special education teacher, Holly knew early on that she wanted a career in education.

After high school, Holly attended Longwood University where she majored in Education and was a member of Zeta Tau Alpha sorority. In her senior year of college, she was diagnosed with type 1 diabetes, which forced her to leave school to manage her now chronic illness.

Holly still earned a Bachelor of Science and obtained her teacher licensure. She taught high school science to special education students for 3 years, then transferred to an alternative school where she taught and held a supervisory role over classroom assistants for 6 years. It was there she met Omar and after the births of their two girls, Hazel and Rosie, the family moved to Sumner County for Omar’s job. With two small children and still managing her chronic illness, Holly took a more flexible job in medical billing to focus on raising their girls.

In 2022, the children’s book, A Place Inside of Me: A Poem to Heal the Heart, was challenged for removal and brought to the Sumner County School Board for a vote. Holly spoke passionately in front of the board, advocating that the book be kept, noting the book featured characters who were representative of her daughters. The book, along with another challenged title, Ways to Make Sunshine, were ultimately kept in circulation by the school board. It was then that Holly recognized the need for representation on the school board for all Sumner County families, so she decided to run for the District 9 seat.

When not working on her campaign, Holly maintains a busy schedule supporting her daughters’ school activities at Benny Bills Elementary and in sports. She also serves as the Public-School Chair for Right to Read Sumner, a local nonprofit that she helped form with her friends to promote literacy and representation in literature. And she holds a voting position on the Executive Committee of the Sumner County Democratic Party.

Holly, Omar, Hazel, and Rosie live in Castalian Springs.