Upwardly Global

Upwardly Global was founded in 2000 by Jane Leu in San Francisco, California. After having worked extensively with immigrants, asylees, and refugees, Jane saw a need for programs that support professionally educated and experienced immigrants in particular. Newspapers have described cases of underemployed immigrant professionals — lawyers working as gas station attendants, doctors as doormen — as the "American classic." Multiple organizations exist to assist immigrant job-seekers, but few have the resources required to assist those with professional-level backgrounds. Upwardly Global is unique in the United States as an organization that specializes in matching qualified immigrants with professional positions. Jane began working with such immigrants part-time, unpaid, from her own kitchen.

In 2000, the organization received its first official grant from the Three Guineas Fund. In the next few years, the list of donors expanded to include the Levi Strauss Foundation, the Draper Richards Foundation, and various private donors. Nikki Cicerani served as the organization's President and CEO from 2009-2018, leading the organization's expansion from two metropolitan areas to four, and launching online, virtual services. She currently serves on the organization's Board of Directors.[1] In 2018, Jina Krause-Vilmar took over as the President and CEO of Upwardly Global. Jina arrived at Upwardly Global with 15 years of experience in for-profit and non-profit sectors.[2]

Upwardly Global now has physical offices in San Francisco, New York City, Chicago, and Washington, D.C. The organization has received numerous awards, including the 2004 Manhattan Institute Award for Social Entrepreneurship and the 2006 John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award, the 2010 E Pluribus Unum Award.[3]

The organization receives funding from private donors, as well as from the Achelis Foundation, Ashoka: Innovators for the Public, the Alan Slifka Foundation, Cisco Systems, Community Technology, Foundation for California, the Draper Richards Foundation, the Gimbel Foundation, the Johnson Foundation, JP Morgan Chase, the Leitner Family Foundation, New Profit, Inc., the New York Times Foundation, the Robin Hood Foundation, the San Francisco Foundation, the Third Millennium Foundation, Three Guineas Fund, Wells Fargo, and more.

Most recently, Upwardly Global has been working to address restrictive state licensing laws. 165,000 internationally trained healthcare professionals live in the U.S. with a range of education, skills, and experiences—including past pandemics and crises like the Ebola and SARS outbreaks.[4] However, complex state licensing laws, misunderstandings of credentials, limited professional networks, and other systemic barriers leave these healthcare professionals on the sidelines—even during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, when frontline support was scarce. Upwardly Global is working with state governments to change these laws to protect patients and build needed capacity.

Upwardly Global clients

Jobseekers that fit requirements have free access to Upwardly Global programs and in-person and digital services. Activities, programs and resources include:

• Resume and cover letter assistance
• Workshops
  • Networking skills
  • Interviewing skills
• Mock interviews
• Mentoring and advising by volunteers
• Access to free classes to earn credentials
• Submission of resumes to relevant employer partners

An Upwardly Global workshop

Upwardly Global COO, Camille Ramani, speaks to jobseekers at a workshop on interviewing

Upwardly Global has partnerships with such companies as Accenture, Google, Wells Fargo.

Upwardly Global's strategy for interaction with employer partners follows a basic three-level process:

1. Education Through training, Upwardly Global works with HR professionals to expand cross-cultural hiring practices.

2. Engagement Employees of partner companies are invited to volunteer for Upwardly Global, individually or in groups. This important step increases awareness about immigrant professional potential and creates "internal advocates for global diversity."

3. Employment The final component is the intersection of needs and goals between the job seekers and companies. Upwardly Global functions similarly to a recruiter by steering qualified and interested candidates towards open positions in employer partner companies.