Holly Kobia, Senior Director for Philanthropy, joined the National Policing Institute in October 2023. She brings over 20 years of experience in higher education fundraising and journalism.

Before she arrived at NPI, Holly was assistant dean of advancement, a senior leadership role, within two colleges at Virginia Tech in Blacksburg, Virginia. She led highly successful teams uniting the college’s development, alumni relations, and communications programs to elevate philanthropic support, enhance alumni engagement, and raise the college’s profile. Her leadership ultimately raised over $100 million for Virginia Tech during her tenure. She secured one of the largest corporate gifts of $39 million to the university, completed a $25 million building campaign, and secured the largest individual gift of $8.5 million to Virginia Tech’s College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences.

Holly also spent nearly a dozen years in TV news as an anchor and reporter. Her TV career kicked off in her hometown of Pittsburgh with coverage of the September 11, 2001, crash of Flight 93 in nearby Shanksville, Pennsylvania. She also had TV roles in Bluefield, West Virginia, and Roanoke, Virginia, with one of the highlights being a one-on-one interview with President Barack Obama.

Holly earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism and mass communications, with a political science minor, from Point Park University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where she was also a student-athlete on a volleyball scholarship.

The policing profession is near and dear to Holly’s heart, as her husband currently serves as a police officer in Blacksburg, Virginia.