Holly Pearson developed a love of the outdoors growing up in Red Wing, Minnesota, and her career has spanned environmental science, policy, and law. She holds a BA in biology from Carleton College and a Ph.D. from Stanford University, where her dissertation research focused on a native Hawaiian tree Acacia koa. After working on climate change policy at the Environmental Defense Fund, Holly attended New York University School of Law and practiced environmental law in San Francisco and Silicon Valley. She currently lives on the Stanford campus with her husband and two sons and is working on a book about Bay Area trees.