Holley spent 20 years as an award-winning business journalist before joining the journalism faculty at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 2004.

She was one of the first business editors at CNN Radio in Atlanta. As a reporter at WMAQ Radio, Holley provided hourly live reports from the Chicago Mercantile Exchange. In 1996, Holley developed, produced and anchored the WMAQ Noon Business Hour. In 2000, she was hired at WebFN in Chicago to anchor one of the first video streaming business news shows.

At the University of Illinois, Holley teaches Crisis Communications, Newsgathering across Platforms, and Business and Financial Reporting. She has developed a popular New York City media networking trip for Illinois students. Holley has also worked as an Academic Programs Coordinator.

Holley serves on the board of the Illinois Journalism Education Association and was a Fellow at the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism at Arizona State University.