Upwardly Global Opens New Office in Chicago in Partnership with the State of Illinois Office of New Americans

Upwardly Global opened its office in Chicago today in partnership with the State of Illinois' Office of New Americans, and with visionary support from the Lloyd A. Fry Foundation, the Polk Bros. Foundation and the Nelson family. The Chicago office joins Upwardly Global offices in San Francisco, CA and New York, NY.

Today, 1.3 million college-educated immigrants living in the U.S. are unemployed or working in unskilled jobs such as taxi drivers and dishwashers, unable to make full use of their academic and professional credentials.

"After successfully launching and growing our program to help skilled immigrants and refugees rebuild their careers in San Francisco and New York, we are thrilled to partner with the Office of New Americans to promote economic integration for new and skilled immigrants in the Chicago area. In the future, we hope to expand from our Chicago office to other Midwest cities," said Jane Leu, Founder and Executive Director of Upwardly Global.

To mark the official opening, Upwardly Global is hosting a two-day Career Summit on February 8-9, 2009 from 8.30 am to 5.00 pm. The two-day summit will provide refugee and immigrant jobseekers the skills and opportunities they will need to successfully find work back in their field, including: working with volunteers on resume development and interview practice, participating in industry roundtables to better understand the Chicago job market, and networking opportunities. After the event, Upwardly Global will continue to offer assistance to immigrant jobseekers in their continuing job search until they successfully find an opportunity back in their fields.

Following the Career Summit, 100 employer representatives will be attending an Employer Breakfast on February 25, 2009 to learn about the wealth of experience and skills these skilled immigrants bring to the Chicago labor market and to network with immigrant professionals from more than 25 countries.

Skilled immigrants who are looking to rebuild their careers in the U.S. and employers who are interested in participating are encouraged to connect with Upwardly Global through our website www.upwardlyglobal.org.