Dr. Linda J.M. Holloway has been in academia for over 30 years. Her area of research includes the intersections of Black women and mental wellness, career counseling for marginalized populations, and Black cinema therapy.

Dr. Holloway is known for her unique teaching style where she bridges the classroom with the community. Her teaching philosophy is Classroom Without Walls, where she moves students from knowledge-based learning to real world application.

She is recognized throughout the world for her Curriculum Study Guides. She has been creating curriculum study guides for much of her teaching career based on various movies to include: For Color Girls Only, Antwone Fisher, Precious, Cash, Remember the Titians, Freedom Land, Get Out, Selma, Black Panther, and 12 Angry Men. Her most recent and well-known curriculum study guides are: Curriculum Study Guide for Kendrick Lamar’s 2025 Super Bowl Halftime Performance, Black Fathers Matter: Unpacking the Kirk Franklin Story, and Curriculum Study Guide about the Montgomery Riverboat Brawl.

Dr. Holloway has also authored 8 award-winning children’s books. Due to the lack of attention to children’s social emotional learning and low literacy rates, Dr. Holloway launched a 1,000 Books Giveaway Campaign. She wanted each child to have their own personal signed copy of her book “I Love My Happy Hair”. This led her to simultaneously spearhead her Anti-Hair Bullying Campaign, where she visits schools, churches, and community organizations to spread the message for children to stop teasing their peers and making fun of others’ hair, but instead celebrate the various hair textures, colors, and ways in which one’s hair can grow from their head.

Additionally, Dr. Holloway is a self-proclaimed Spoken Word Artist, where she believes in using poetry as a means to assist people navigate and express their mental health issues. She has several of her poems published in peer review journals and has received awards for some of them.

For her outstanding services to the community, Dr. Holloway has been featured in multiple media outlets, popular podcasts, and magazines to include The Roland Martin Show, The Grio with Eboni K. Williams, Living Strong: The Flip Side of Adversity, Zoom Into Books, Story Monster, Resilience magazine, Dopeliven TV, and KISH magazine.

In addition to Dr. Holloway’s academic career, she served over 27 years in the United States Army Reserves, retiring as Colonel of the Medical Service Corp. She successfully completed 4 combat tours: (1) Operation Desert Shield Desert Storm Farewell, (2) Two Tours to Iraq- Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF) and (3) Operation Enduring Freedom- Afghanistan. During her 4 tours Dr. Holloway served as a Civil Affairs Officer who worked with the Female Engagement Teams. She was part of the original Embedded Provisional Reconstruction Teams (E-PRT) in Iraq that received recognition from President Bush and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. It was during this time that Dr. Holloway got to meet Former President Biden’s late son Beau Biden. She was very instrumental in laying the foundation for training Female Engagement Teams both in Iraq and Afghanistan which led to the contribution of the Female Engagement Handbook. Dr. Holloway received the Bronze Medal and Meritorious Service Medal for her outstanding service.

Post Education:

Alcorn State University

• Bachelor of Science Degree in Psychology

Jackson State University

• Master of Art Degree in Sociology with an emphasis in Alcohol and Drug Use

Mississippi State University

• Doctorate of Education in Counselor Education-Clinical Mental Health Counseling and a minor in Sociology-Criminology Race and Relationship

University of Chapel Hill

• Post Doctorate in Counselor Education

Awards and Honors:

2025 Counselors for Social Justice O’Hana Award

2024 Southern Christian Writers Conference 1st Place Poetry Winner

2024 Counselors for Social Justice Mary Smith Anti-Oppression Award

2024 Women Who Shape The State Award (Alabama)

2023 Southern Christian Writers Conference 2nd Place Poetry Winner

2023 Alabama Counseling Association Wilbur A. Tincher for Humanitarian and Caring Person Award

2023 Pearson Excellence in Higher Education Award: Outstanding Integration of

of Diversity & Inclusion Finalist

2022 Sisters with Superpowers Award

2022 K.I.S.H. Magazine Top 30 Influential Women Movers and Shakers

Selected Publications:

• Holloway, L.J.M. (2024). "50 Shades of Blackness." Journal of Poetry Therapy (1), 2.
• Holloway, L.J.M. (2023). I Don’t Apologize. Journal Committed to Social Change on Race and Ethnicity,9(1), 225-227.
• Berry, A. T., & Holloway, L.J.M. (2022). "An exploration of Black college students' conformity gender-role norms." Journal of Underrepresented & Minority Progress.
• Holloway, L. J. M. (2022) Learning to Manage My Self-Care During COVID-19 Pandemic. Alabama Counseling Association Journal 44(1) 64-69.
• Holloway, L.J.M. (2020). "Colorism Among Black Women." EC Journal of Psychology and Psychiatry, 9(9), 122–128.