Upwardly Global
Model & Strategy
Upwardly Global connects skilled immigrant job seekers with employers and provides both with resources to succeed together. These foreign-born professionals are college-educated and bring cross-cultural and multilingual talent to an increasingly global workplace. Despite skills and training, they encounter multiple barriers to entry into the U.S. job market and can end up underemployed due to a cumbersome and confusing job search process. Through the Job Seeker Services Program, these immigrants, refugees and asylees receive critical acculturation training, resume and interview preparation, direct mentoring, and networking and referral opportunities. Upwardly Global’s Employer Network Program provides US employers with training to identify, recruit and integrate immigrant professionals into the American workplace. Partner organizations benefit from Upwardly Global’s Recruitment and Placement Services, bringing highly-skilled, culturally-diverse workers into the mainstream workforce.
Jane Leu is Upwardly Global’s founder. An internationally recognized social entrepreneur and expert on global immigration and workforce issues, Jane has nearly 20 years of experience as an innovator in the social sector. Jane’s extensive experience in the area of immigrant integration includes roles as Assistant Director for Resettlement and Assistant Director of RefugeeWorks at a national refugee resettlement organization. She also helped launch several Welfare-to-Work programs for refugees.
Jina Krause-Vilmar is UpGlo’s President & CEO. Jina joined UpGlo in July 2018 with over a decade leading nonprofits for refugees’ economic advancement. Her most recent role was the Director of Inclusion and Gender for HIAS, a refugee agency working in the US and abroad. She has held senior leadership positions at the Near East Foundation and the Women’s Refugee Commission.
IMPACT
UpGlo envisions a nation where New Americans are a recognized and valued source of talent. They strive to eliminate employment barriers for skilled immigrants and refugees by integrating them into the workforce.
To date, nearly 7,000 immigrants and refugees from 100+ countries have secured professional jobs in their respective career fields with the help of UpGlo’s team and support. As a result of our intervention, newcomers earn an average starting salary of $57,000 —representing an average income increase of nearly $50,000 per placement.
Roughly 30% of job seekers served came to the US as refugees or asylum seekers.
