Holt's research focuses on the dynamics of motivation and representation in the public sector workforce. He is particularly interested in using longitudinal data to examine factors that influence the values that motivate public sector workers' behavior and the impact of workers' values on public organization performance. In addition, Professor Holt investigates the relationship between demographic representation in the public workforce and the exercise of bureaucratic discretion in public bureaucracies. Prior to earning his PhD in Public Administration at American University in Washington, D.C., Professor Holt worked as an analyst in Westat's Education Studies Group, supporting a variety of evaluations of education programs and aiding in the design and implementation of the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study, 2010 cohort.