Raven Holloway’s Unwavering Belief in Herself and the Spirit of Resiliency

Raven Holloway, Program Director, Momentum Works. (Momentum)
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By Je’Don Holloway-Talley | For The Birmingham Times

(Women’s History Month Special)

Raven Holloway radiates health and prosperity on a quiet Saturday afternoon in her modern, elegant home in the Ross Bridge community of Hoover, Alabama. Dressed in sleek athleisure wear, she exudes the effortless glow of someone who prioritizes wellness of the mind, body, and spirit.

Holloway is Program Director for Momentum Works, which is a part of Momentum, Alabama’s premier women’s leadership program that empowers participants to develop leadership skills that impact business, culture and politics in their respective communities and across the state.

At her home, where sunlight is streaming through large picture windows, illuminating her smooth brown skin and the striking mix of green and hazel in her eyes, Holloway explains why she has been so successful in her role as program director, which has become a space where women shift from doubt to confidence, from stagnation to growth.

“Women need to be able to sit across from other women and see the possibility of what they can be,” she says.

The proof is in the numbers: In just one year, program participants reported more than $450,000 in salary increases, with an average reported salary bump of $13,947.

Holloway’s own journey and unwavering belief in women’s potential mirrors the transformation happening within each participant, making Momentum Works not just a program but a movement.

Holloway, 44, (no relation to the author) is an Arthur Harold (A. H.) Parker High School graduate, the eldest of three siblings, the only girl, and the only one to be raised by their maternal grandmother.

“My mom struggled with alcoholism, and my grandmother made my mother leave me with her,” Holloway said. “[My mother] and my brothers weren’t far away, but they had their dad, and I didn’t. Granny wanted me where she could see me, and I would not be on the journey I’m on without the folks in those projects who really saw me and poured into me.”

Holloway was part of the drama and theater department in high school, and after graduating in 1999 she went on to study theater at Alabama State University.

“I could have used the barriers of my growing up in the [Loveman Village] projects and being poor, of my grandmother raising me and my mom [dealing with alcoholism], but I was curious. … I looked for opportunities, and I wasn’t going to allow anything or anyone to hold me back,” Holloway said.

“Relentless Curiosity”

Raven Holloway, Program Director, Momentum Works. (Momentum)

Despite the challenges of her upbringing, Holloway said it took “relentless curiosity” about life and its nuance to propel her forward. She leaned into her strengths and embraced every chance to grow.

That same spirit of resilience, self-discovery, and breaking barriers is exactly what Momentum Works aims to foster in women like Holloway, women who are determined to step into their full potential despite the obstacles they’ve faced. She would eventually realize that her journey of perseverance and self-advocacy aligns perfectly with the group’s mission.

After college, Holloway worked odd jobs, but it wasn’t until she developed a deeper interest in her mother’s plight with alcoholism that she “began to research and study it,” she said. “I not only did that but also decided to take a job with Bradford Health Services,” an addiction treatment center in Jefferson County.

“They have multiple outpatient programs, so I took a job in one of the outpatient programs in Hoover and started to learn about addiction treatment. … I was there for 14 years and moved all the way up to becoming the national marketer, the face for Bradford.”

Holloway had an idea that would deepen her involvement with her patients. The longtime yoga and meditation practitioner saw an opportunity to bring holistic healing to Bradford’s patients. She pitched a curriculum and, to her surprise, the company backed her vision, agreeing to pay for her training.

Adding yoga certification to her repertoire would prove beneficial.

“I realized there should be a holistic approach, so I wanted to incorporate teaching our patients yoga and meditation, [as well as encourage them to start] working out and just really caring about themselves from a holistic standpoint,” Holloway said. “I truly believe that meditation produces manifestation. Also, I believe that it’s how we should begin the morning, how we set the intentions for the day.”

The Pivot

The COVID-19 pandemic led to department cuts at Bradford, and Holloway’s position was eliminated in 2022.

The loss of the job created the pivot, which was [the formation of] Wellness WorX, through which she offered holistic health services. “I never knew anything about business or any of that, but it took off and it did well. I’m very, very proud of myself for that,” Holloway said. “But I realized that I’m a connector and I like being around people. Being an entrepreneur is incredible, but I enjoyed getting up every morning, putting on clothes, and being around people who were all on the same mission.”

She found herself craving the structure of a traditional role. “I felt like I needed a nine-to-five,” she said. That search led her to a social services organization in Birmingham, where she accepted the position of Director of

Philanthropy. However, the day-to-day work for her left much to be desired, she said.

“I’ll be honest with you, it was not a job that I enjoyed at all,” she said.

Fundraising lacked the direct connection to people that had always fueled

her passion. “Although I was very much in love with the mission, I was not in love with the work,” she said.

It would be in Jamaica where clarity finally came, she remembered. “I knew it was time to let go.” That was 2023 and she decided that 2024 would be her year to grow and embark on something greater and more aligned with her calling. “But what I didn’t realize was that growth only happens where there’s pruning,” she said.

Just weeks after returning home from Jamaica, Holloway received a call informing her that her mother was in the hospital. When her mother passed away, Holloway was forced to confront a deeper truth: growth often comes through loss. “That loss reshaped everything,” she said. “And it showed me I had to let go [of that job]. I was being pruned, and pruning requires removal.”

After leaving that job Holloway didn’t have a clear plan for what was next, but said she knew one thing for certain — she would never again step into a role that wasn’t in divine alignment for her.

“A Future You”

And just like that, her next opportunity came. Momentum had been watching her professional development work at the University of Alabama at Birmingham’s Regional In-Service Center, where she led leadership workshops for educators.

Andrea McCaskey, Momentum’s former statewide director of programs, called and asked Holloway to facilitate a session for the Executive Class. After a successful first session, Holloway was invited back to lead another for the Huntsville Executive Class.

Then came a question she wasn’t expecting: Are you looking for a job? “That’s how I ended up with Momentum Leaders,” Holloway recalled. “It was on the heels of facilitating a piece that I curated called ‘A Future You.’”

Now, as program director of Momentum Works, Holloway isn’t just teaching leadership, she’s living it—and the women who step into Momentum Works learn the same truth that changed her trajectory in 2024: sometimes, stepping into the life you’re meant for means surrendering your old one.

Learn more about Momentum Works and other Momentum Leaders programs at momentumleaders.org.

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