Dear friends,

We are pleased to announce Holly Christensen Sestak is the new President and Chief Operating Officer of Socratic Arts.

Holly first joined us 15 years ago as a project manager, building learning programs and courses in collaboration with her beloved clients. Her clients have included Fortune 100 global companies, premier consulting firms, the International Organization for Standardization, universities, and other organizations and schools around the world, where she's solved complex business challenges using human-centered design, leading to the creation of award-winning, learn-by-doing programs.

In recent years, Holly has served as our COO and as a Learning Design Director. She is a champion of making a difference in the lives of learners - building their skills and capabilities - while creating the best possible experience for our clients. Holly leads by encouraging a culture of empathy for our client partners, thinking about their unique needs, aspirations and constraints as we work together to build the industry's best learning solutions.

Previously, Holly was a performance consultant working with large organizations including IBM and Allstate. In addition, she was the Learning Officer and Director of Academic Systems and Processes, where she co-led all academic learning and was the lead architect of the academic administrative systems at the institutions owned by Apollo Group. Holly has built a career based on integrity, passion, empathy and excellence.

Holly is taking over for Mike McGarry, who stepped down as president in September 2021. Mike spent nearly 20 years as President of Socratic Arts and is now serving in the role of President Emeritus, focusing his efforts on client relationships and business development. Holly will continue to work with Mike and the rest of our talented leadership team led by our founder and CEO, Roger Schank, Ph.D.

"Holly is one of the most respected and sought-after names in the industry. I recognized Holly as a major talent early on and gave her as much responsibility as possible as she progressed in the firm. She is fully prepared to take on this new role and will lead Socratic Arts into new opportunities and thought leadership." - Mike McGarry

Please join us in congratulating Holly as we look with anticipation to the next chapter of Socratic Arts.

With gratitude,

The Socratic Arts team