Holly Ham


Holly Ham is the executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders at the U.S. Department of Education. Previously, Ham served as the Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Education where she was appointed by President Trump on April 20, 2017.

Early life and education

Of Chinese descent, Ham was born in Saigon, Vietnam. After the end of the Vietnam War, Ham’s parents took five children and fled in the summer of 1979. In January 1980, at the age of 7, Ham and her family settled in Texas as refugees. Ham went to elementary and secondary public schools in Texas. Ham graduated from the University of Houston, where she received both her Bachelor and Master of Business Administration degrees, graduating as a member of Beta Gamma Sigma, a business honor society.

Government career

Ham’s announcement to serve as Assistant Secretary for Management at the U.S. Department of Education came from President Trump on April 20, 2017. The post did not require Senate confirmation. On November 13, 2017, Ham was appointed to the position of executive director of the White House Initiative on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, housed in the U.S. Department of Education.