Seasoned technology executive and AI strategist to lead UpGlo’s digital infrastructure, AI readiness, and mission-driven innovation
New York, NY — Upwardly Global, the leading nonprofit helping immigrants and refugees with professional qualifications restart their careers in the U.S., has announced the appointment of Prathibha Polapragada as Vice President of Technology and AI Infrastructure. With more than 24 years of experience in enterprise technologies, digital transformation, and AI strategy, Prathibha brings the depth and vision to accelerate UpGlo’s next chapter of mission-driven impact.
In her new role, Prathibha will lead UpGlo’s technology strategy, architecture, and delivery, working in close partnership with the Programs and Product teams to advance organization-wide AI enablement and adoption, strengthen core enterprise systems, and ensure that data integrity and security are embedded into every experience UpGlo creates for jobseekers, employers, and partners.
“Helping highly skilled, internationally credentialed professionals reclaim their careers in the U.S. is one of the most meaningful problems technology can help solve. I’m proud to be part of a team building systems designed around the needs of the people we serve, and advancing meaningful outcomes in workforce integration at scale.”
As a recognized leader in enterprise architecture and AI, Prathibha has pioneered architecture-led delivery, built production AI systems, authored organizational AI governance frameworks, and established enterprise architecture practices from the ground up.
Before joining UpGlo, Prathibha served as Vice President of Digital Transformation and AI Strategy at iShift, where she led mission-critical programs for the National Cancer Institute’s Center for Biomedical Informatics and Information Technology. She previously served as Vice President of Enterprise Architecture and Business Systems at Teaching Strategies. She also held executive technology leadership roles at Management Concepts.
Across every role, Prathibha has focused on building the digital backbone that helps mission-driven organizations support people during critical moments of education, workforce transition, and career mobility. At Upwardly Global, she will bring that same user focus to one of the most important talent equity challenges of our time.
