By: Dani Nalangan

In the spotlight or backstage, former dancer Jacky Holler brings a passion for the arts to working in operations.

With a background in finance and banking as Bank of America’s Leader on Loan at Self Help Graphics, Holler has a lot of expertise to bring to the table as SHG’s current Acting Director of Operations, From operations, call center management, escalation management, strategic planning, project management, working with budgets, etc., she’s a self-proclaimed jack-of-all-trades.

Despite working a supporting role to the artists creating work and teaching the community, Holler is still devoted to the arts herself as a dancer during her college days, theater enthusiast, concert-goer, and nonprofit supporter. We spoke about her transition to more “behind-the-scenes” work in banking and now, for the next year, at SHG. Our conversation has been edited for length and clarity.

Q: To learn a little bit more about you, where did you grow up? I think you already mentioned to me earlier you were West L.A. born and raised, but can you describe your upbringing a little bit more?

A: I’m a true Angeleno, I was born and raised in Los Angeles. I was born in downtown at Los Angeles Hospital, which no longer exists, and then was raised primarily on the west side. All of my education was throughout West LA, for college I attended Santa Monica College, getting my bachelor’s from UCLA. Early in my career I completed my MBA at Pepperdine.

Q: So, I guess growing up, were you into art? And if not, what other kinds of things interested you as a kid?

 A: I started dancing when I was five and danced my way into UCLA as a dance major. I did not come out of UCLA with a dance degree because it was modern, and I specialized in jazz, ballet and tap dance. So modern dance was actually my fourth choice, and it was apparent that it was not going to be a match when I got to UCLA so I switched majors. At that time, I also started in banking, working as a part time teller while attending UCLA. Additionally, my parents believed strongly in educating me, my twin sister, and my older brothers in the arts. I started going to light opera at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion when I was a little girl. Basically, I have been surrounded by theater and dance all of my life. While in school I was in theater arts, in all facets—from backstage, to onstage, to dancing in programs, and special dance programs.

Q: That's really great to hear. What made you want to pursue dancing, and continue it into college? Or, you know, what do you like about those artforms in particular?

A: I love to dance, it’s always been my passion. When you dance, you lose yourself in the music and the steps. I’ve loved getting into the dance zone, it’s an amazing form of art and expression. This is very similar to what we do here at Self Help Graphics, our artists create magic as they are creating their work. I loved dancing while I was growing up. I’m fortunate to have access to many incredible instructors here in LA. It was my passion. And that’s where I went to get away from studying, where I could grow mentally and physically. 

Q: Do you still dance now? 

A: For a hobby. I taught my kids how to dance. I have all sons, so I made sure that they all know how to dance. No one stands at the wall, we all head to the dance floor.

Q: So in college, I guess when you made the transition between dance and… what did you say your other major was?

A: Once dance was no longer an option, I wanted to pursue business. Sadly, at UCLA there is no undergrad business program, only an MBA. With that in mind, I focused on a degree in sociology. It wasn’t a bad major, however I knew I would not follow that field after graduation. Hence, I went into banking, I found that that was very rewarding. I really enjoyed it. I worked in Westwood at Wells Fargo Bank. Once I graduated, I was invited into their personal banking officer program. And that was the beginning of what is now a 40 plus year career in financial services. Reflecting back, I was a good dancer, not a great dancer. I wasn’t that good in any of the specialties, I was too short and curvy to be a ballerina. So yeah, it worked out just fine.

Q: Because there's so many things you can do with business? Why did you choose banking specifically, or finance?

 A: I liked working with the public and liked working in the bank. I started in the branch; it offers a lot of positions all in one place. I advanced to be branch manager fairly quickly, and I then went through local branch management. I wanted to future my business education, so I went through my MBA at night while working full time. After that, I realized that I could go on into operations or support, which is what I did. My MBA helped me secure a role as an operations analyst doing budgets and reporting, Board of Director reporting, and so on. I then broadened my career into call center management, escalation management, strategic planning, project management, process improvement, etc. I consider myself a jack of all trades. I’m like a chameleon, and that is how I probably have made my way over here to Self Help. The last couple of roles that I had inside the bank have been Business Support Executive or Business Controls Executive—I’ve been in charge of running large divisions within the bank.

Q: So transitioning into SHG, how did you get into the role?

A: Bank of America has a unique program called Leader on Loan, or Executive on Loan. It is a program that started just a few years ago, in Charlotte, which is where we’re based. We’re now expanded, and there are only about twenty to twenty-five of us leaders in Leader on Loan across the country. We are located in different markets, there are about five in Charlotte, and then we’re all scattered across the US. I am the first Leader on Loan here in Los Angeles. Bank of America has a long-standing relationship with Self Help Graphics, dating back to the 1970’s. Betty worked with our local market office and they coordinated what might be needed for Self Help. And at that time, our leadership team inside the bank identified talent within our market. I surfaced as one who had in a similar match, and then Betty and I got together to see if we thought we could work together. And here I am, I’m on loan for a year, going from September to September. 

Q: As you said before, you haven't been in this position for that long and it's very fluid, but, working in a nonprofit environment, how has your experience with that so far? How has that been different or rewarding in its own ways?

A: This reminds me of our Consumer Banking environment, with ten or twenty people on site. We’re all together on one site. At Bank of America, I’m used to managing teams nationwide, there we do everything through virtual communications. We have local sites with 1500 to 2000 people and all employees working for different areas of the bank. This is a really unique opportunity to come here to apply my background, but also to come into a family, and a family that supports the arts. 

There is a bit of full circle here for me working in Boyle Heights. My mom was raised here in Boyle Heights, she went to Roosevelt High. My dad grew up in Inglewood, and he went to Inglewood High. I have always had a passion for supporting the arts, and this is a unique opportunity that I get to spend a year doing something very different with my career. I have the honor of working at Self Help, partnering with Betty and the team. We have a lot of work ahead of us in 2023 to have successful move out of this facility and prep for the renovation which is ahead of us. This is a daunting task by any stretch of the imagination. We also have our 50th anniversary gala and Day of the Dead to plan. I get to utilize my skills here and renew and recharge myself while I’m here too. 

I do some other nonprofit work locally too. Through the bank, we have an opportunity to support nonprofits through board service. I’ve been with Bank of America for about twelve years now. For the last seven years, I have been aligned to the Los Angeles Dodger Foundation. I sit on their Advisory Committee on behalf of the bank. Additionally, for the past five years I’ve been aligned to Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center, again, sitting on their Advisory Committee on behalf of the bank. Not only do I represent us on those boards to help drive influence, but I also do quite a bit of volunteering with these non-profits. I lead Bank of America volunteers at the Dodger Foundation events. I am a volunteer ambassador usher at the Thousand Oaks Performing Arts Center. I usher three or four times a month. I get to go see shows, concerts, performances, all while serving the public. 

Q: You mentioned volunteering your free time. I’m interested if there are any other things recently that you particularly like to do or enjoy when you're not working at SHG?

A: Since my kids are now adults—one is in Pasadena and the other three are out of town. They are all only a phone call away. I’m an empty nester, I have time to enjoy the fruits of Los Angeles! I fortunately have a lot of family here in LA. I spend a lot of time with my twin sister and my brothers and their families. I’m with a wonderful partner, my fiancé and we plan to marry soon. We enjoy concerts, Dodger games, UCLA basketball and football games. I do a lot of walking or yoga when I can, being mindful, trying to really keep my brain and body healthy. We’ve got so many great things to see and do right here locally. We love to travel so we get away for quick weekenders or fly away to somewhere wonderful.

Q: Going back a little bit, with your experience here, have you had a favorite memory so far, at any of the SHG events we've put on or any other things you've been able to contribute to or be a part of?

A: My timing was perfect getting to experience the Day of the Dead exhibit, customs and celebrations up close and personal as I started working here. Clearly, that’s been a highlight. We had a chance for Betty and I to be able to partner together, and host the Bank of America volunteers at Self Help Graphics. We had a paper flower night, just for the Bank of America employees. We had over fifty Bank of America employees, family, and friends attend and we made four huge bags of paper flowers. We brought in dinner and it was a wonderful Friday night. That was truly one of the highlights because we got to blend my bank world with our Self Help world and work with the wonderful artists. After the event I was able to market the event’s success inside the bank and spread the word about Self Help Graphics to my Los Angeles bank peers. Part of this experience of me being here by sharing my expertise. I’m helping to drive purpose, sustainability, transformation process to move SHG forward with the positive motion, while delivering strategic and broad results.

Q: Is there anything you're looking forward to in this role for the rest of your time here? Are there any goals you hope to achieve?

A: I’m part of the Self Help Graphics team, and I just want to be part of the family. I bring unique experiences, which Betty welcomes. I’m from LA and have been in the area for a long time. I think that’s a wonderful opportunity. I just look forward to my personal growth while helping grow the team. I want to learn how to print. I’m enjoying learning about traditions that are important to the staff and the community we serve. I’m asking lots of questions, and the team is really open to sharing the culture with me. 

At the same time, I’m looking forward to helping take some stress off everybody else, get us moved out of this building, and get us kind of assembled for the renovation. I will not be moving us back in—my tenure will have been completed—but the better we can be prepared to move out, the better off we’ll be when we come back in. I know when my year is over here and I head back into the next bank role, I’ll look back fondly of this amazing experience. It is an honor to serve the Self Graphics team and the community at large.

Dani Nalangan is the summer/fall Los Angeles County Department of Arts and Culture, Arts Journalism and PR Intern at Self Help Graphics & Art. She is a musician and illustrator studying Musicology and Communications at UCLA.