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A Resource for Skilled Immigrants. An Opportunity for America.
Donate NowName: Gabriela
Country: Brazil
Profession: Media Relations Specialist
A PR professional from Brazil, Gabriela, worked as a make-up counter sales associate in the U.S. But Gaby never gave up hope. After a series of interviews and writing tests, Gaby finally landed a full-time position as a Media Relations Specialist.
"He who dreams is not a fool. Let us not all have a place for self-doubt and despair as we should always try to convert adversities and odds into opportunities. I thank you all Upwardly Global team for providing help and inspiration when it was badly needed."
Name: Abebe Gellaw
Country: Ethiopia
Profession: Executive Director
Company: Ethiopian Satellite Televison
Upwardly Global Board of Directors List
Adam Edwards, SEO Director, Reprise Media
Adam Edwards currently serves as SEO Director at Reprise Media. Previously, Adam was Director of Search Marketing for Converseon, a leading social media agency for some of the top brands in the country. Prior to joining Converseon his experience in New York included positions as chief catalyst at HitTail, search engine optimization strategist at Roundarch, and senior project manager in charge of client strategy at Connors Communications. Adam got his start as a marketing coordinator in Philadelphia at Scala Broadcast Multimedia after teaching himself web design while studying journalism at Penn State University. He organizes New York's longest-running travel meetup with over 700 members and is very active in the Silicon Alley tech scene. Adam has given talks on the long tail at SEMPO, web analytics at Columbia University, and the future of advertising at the Future Salon. He has been a very vocal supporter for Upwardly Global since 2007 as a past member of its Leadership Council and founder of the annual Golden Break nationwide charity pool tournament.
Jane Leu, Founder, Upwardly Global
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 experience as an innovator in the social sector. In addition to Upwardly Global, Jane was on the founding side of numerous projects and enterprises, including the Craigslist nonprofit venture forum, RefugeeWorks, seven Welfare-to-Work programs, and the Hauser Research Center for Nonprofit Organizations at Harvard University's Kennedy School of Government. As the Founder and CEO of Upwardly Global (2000-2009), she focused on creating the day when skilled immigrants from around the world will be seamlessly integrated in the U.S. workforce in ways that optimize their skills.
Upwardly Global's innovative idea and Jane's leadership has been recognized by many awards, including Ashoka: Innovators for the Public; the John F. Kennedy New Frontier Award; the Jefferson Award for Community Service; as well as awards and support from the Manhattan Institute, Robin Hood Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation and Draper Richards Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. Jane's vision and work has been covered by National Public Radio, BBC, CNN, TIME and the Wall Street Journal. Jane holds a master's degree from Columbia University's School of International and Public Affairs and a bachelor's degree from Tufts University. She is on the Advisory Council of the Migration Policy Institute, Joshua Venture Group and Ashoka U, Ashoka's university division.
Jennifer Geissel-Zervigon, Board Secretary, Independent Strategy Consultant
Jennifer Geissel-Zervigon is a Board Secretary and is an Independent Strategy Consultant with over 15 years experience in strategy and corporate finance, predominantly serving technology companies. Most recently, Jennifer was a Senior Managing Director at the Nasdaq Stock Market, where she managed sales for Nasdaq's stock trading business. Prior to working at Nasdaq, she was a strategy consultant for many years; first as a Manager at Deloitte Consulting, and then at Treacy & Company, a strategic consulting boutique, where she was a Senior Principal. Prior to business school, Jennifer was an Associate in Investment Banking at Donaldson, Lufkin & Jenrette, focusing on M&A and Bridge finance. Jennifer received her BA in English from New York University and her Masters in Business Administration at the Amos Tuck School at Dartmouth. She currently serves on the Advisory Board of the Tuck Club of New York and Tuck's Women in Business Club.
Kevin Kelly, Deputy Commissioner, Business Development Division / Agency Strategy, NYC Department of Small Business Services
As Deputy Commissioner of the Business Development Division, Kevin Kelly is responsible for overseeing NYC Business Solutions, Business Incentives, the Business Outreach Team, and the SBS Customer Service Center. These programs are designed to make it easier for businesses to start, operate, and expand in New York City. Kevin also leads Agency Strategic Planning & Strategic Operations, where he is responsible for helping the Agency achieve its programmatic objectives.
Prior to his current role, Kevin was Assistant Commissioner of NYC Business Express, a City-wide effort that has fundamentally transformed the way businesses interact with government. NYC Business Express (www.NYC.gov/BusinessExpress, an award-winning online application), enables business owners and entrepreneurs to start, operate and expand a business through a single online point of contact.
Prior to NYC Business Express, Kevin was Assistant Commissioner of Operations & Technology - building and deploying the Agency's operational and technological resources to support the City's economic development objectives.
Kevin joined SBS in February 2004 as Executive Director of Strategic Operations for Workforce Development, where he completely revamped operations and implemented new systems at all of the City's job centers. These improvements enabled the City to dramatically increase the number of jobseekers hired by businesses seeking qualified labor, provided customers with better service, increased staff and system capacity, and made possible the management of these City-wide services using real-time objective data.
Prior to joining SBS, Kevin worked in the private sector as a management consultant, devising and implementing working capital improvement strategies for Fortune 500 companies. He lived and worked overseas for many years, primarily in Latin America and Europe. Kevin's career includes prior public service with the Peace Corps in Costa Rica and with the New York City Transit Authority.
Kevin received his B.A. in Urban Studies from Columbia University; his M.A. in International Studies from the University of Pennsylvania; and his M.B.A., with distinction, from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania. Kevin is an adjunct professor at Columbia University’s School of International & Public Affairs.
Kevin McCabe, Executive Vice President, Wells Fargo & Company
Kevin McCabe has more than 36 years of combined public accounting and financial services industry experience. He has served as Executive Vice President and Chief Auditor for Wells Fargo & Company since 2003 with responsibility for overseeing all of the company’s audit, investigations, and security processes and systems and for enhancing its risk management environment.
From 1999 to 2002, he was the European Chief Auditor at Citigroup. Before that he had various audit roles in New York, Hong Kong, and London. He began his career at Coopers & Lybrand.
He serves on the board of the Hong Kong Association of Northern California where he is currently chairman, the board of the San Francisco Opera where he is the chair of the Audit Committee, and the board of the Asian Art Museum Foundation where he is chair of the Audit Committee.
He graduated from Rutgers University, earning his bachelor’s degrees in economics and accounting. He has obtained his Certified Public Accountant, Certified Information System Auditor, and NASD Series 3, 7, 24 & 63 certifications.
Martha Gallo, Head of Global Compliance & Regulatory Management for JPMorgan Chase
Martha Gallo is Head of Global Compliance & Regulatory Management for JPMorgan Chase, a global financial services firm with assets of $2.0 trillion and operations in more than 60 countries. the firm is a leader in investment banking, financial services for consumers, small business and commercial banking, financial transaction processing, asset management and private equity. Prior to this role, she served as Board Treasurer, Executive Vice President, General Auditor and Chief Operating Officer for Global Finance.
Martha joined JPMorgan in 1981. In addition to the roles previously mentioned, she has held numerous leadership positions including COO of Credit Risk, Co-Head of Technology, and CFO/COO of Technology and Operations. She also served as the Chief Auditor for JPMorgan from 1998-2001. Martha is a member of the firm's Executive Committee. She has served on a number of other firm-wide committees including Risk Management, Technology, and the Corporate Diversity Council. She is also co-chair of Upwardly Global, an organization that helps highly educated New Americans find employment in their area of professional expertise. In addition, she is a Director of the Governors Island Preservation and Education Corporation and on the Board of the Alliance for Downtown New York.
Peter Y. Lee, Senior Vice President, TIBCO Software
Peter Lee co-founded DataSynapse in March 2000. As Senior Vice President of DataSynapse Group, TIBCO Software, Peter leads the strategy and operations for the company. Prior to founding DataSynapse, Peter served as an investment banker at J.P. Morgan & Co. He has worked on a wide range of capital markets and investment banking transactions based in New York, Tokyo and Hong Kong, where he built and managed the firm's Asia Pacific Telecom/Media/Technology investment banking group. Before joining J.P. Morgan, Peter worked in the Strategic Planning Group of Deloitte & Touche International. Peter holds a joint MBA/MA degree from The Wharton School/Lauder Institute at the University of Pennsylvania in Entrepreneurial Management/International Affairs, and earned an AB in Government, cum laude, from Harvard University. He was also the recipient of the "Outstanding 50 Asian-Americans in Business Award."
Robert W. Glass, Board Chair, Executive Vice President, Corporate Development, Robert Half International, Inc.
Robert W. Glass is Board Chair and Executive Vice President, Corporate Development at Robert Half International Inc (RHI). RHI is the world's first and largest specialized staffing firm.
Roger Nelson, Chairman, WMG Capital and Waterstone Group
Roger Nelson is chairman WMG Capital and Waterstone Group, a private equity firm. His background spans over thirty years in public accounting and global management consulting with the firm Ernst & Young, LLP. He is the retired deputy chairman of Ernst & Young and was the CEO of the three billion dollar global consulting practice. He served as a member of the U.S. Management Committee, the Global Executive Board, and the Global Council. During his career with Ernst & Young, he also served as vice chairman - Midwest Region, Southwest regional director of consulting, partner in charge of Chicago office consulting, partner in charge and technical director of the Continental Europe consulting practice, and lead client teams in the area of corporate governance and planning. Roger has served as an adjunct professor of accounting and information systems at Northwestern University's K.L. Kellogg Graduate School of Management. He was also a lecturer for the Conference Board and the Management Centre of Europe. He is a CPA and a member of the AICPA and the Illinois CPA Society. He is a graduate of Northern Illinois University with a major in accounting. He also served as treasurer of the Village of Kenilworth. He is currently the chairman for the Institute for Truth in Accounting. His current board memberships include: the Johnsson Group; the Oriental Institute; Trustee of the Fourth Presbyterian Church; and the Waterstone Group. His club memberships include: the Commercial Club of Chicago; the Economic Club of Chicago; the Chicago Club; and the University Club. His former board memberships include: the Landmark Preservation Council of Illinois; Ballet Chicago; Friends of Fermilab; International Visitors Center; Chicago Heart Association; JDF Chicago; and Metropolitan Family Services. Roger and his wife, Midge live in downtown Chicago. They have two grown children and four grandchildren.
Sabina R. Ahmed, Finance Manager, Google, Inc.
Sabrina R. Ahmed has over 20 years of experience in investment banking, economic research, management consulting, and financial planning and analysis for private equity and high technology companies in the Bay Area. Currently with Google, Sabrina has previously held senior positions at Urchin Partners, Opportunity Capital Partners, Vodafone AirTouch, Deloitte Consulting and MARCorp. Originally from Bangladesh, she holds an MS in Management and a Bachelor of Economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Wendy Zimmermann, Board Vice Chair, Senior Policy Associate
Wendy Zimmerman is Vice Chair and was most recently a Senior Policy Associate for 16 years at the Urban Institute, a Washington, D.C. based public policy research organization. She conducted research on a wide range of immigration policy issues, including immigrant integration, refugee resettlement, and the effects of welfare and education reform on immigrants in the U.S. Her publications include The Integration of Immigrant Families in the United States and All Under One Roof: Mixed Status Families in an Era of Reform. In addition to serving on the Upwardly Global board, Wendy is also on the board of Groundwork Hudson Valley, a non-profit organization that works with communities to improve their physical and social environment. She holds a BA from Duke University and an MA from Stanford. Wendy is helping Upwardly Global hone its measurement tools and data collection.
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