In 2014, Upwardly Global expanded its on-the-ground services to two key regions, opening satellite offices in Detroit, Michigan and Silver Spring, Maryland. These cities join our existing locations in New York, San Francisco, and Chicago offering job search training and in-person support to skilled immigrants and refugees working to rebuild their professional careers.

Collaboration is at the heart of UpGlo’s work, and both offices were born from partnerships with local support organizations and state and city agencies. In June we launched the Detroit office in collaboration with the Michigan Office for New Americans and the state’s Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs. Michigan also became the first state to replicate our Global Engineers in Residence (GEIR) program, which creates full-time mid-career internships for internationally trained engineers.

Since opening our Michigan office, we have helped to place 14 jobseekers back into engineering, sales, and healthcare fields—including the recent hire of an International Marketing Manager with Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. We also recently launched a Cultural Ambassador Program with long-time partner Global Detroit, in which members of the community serve as professional connectors to skilled immigrants, helping them to expand their networks. Our partnership with Global Detroit has been integral to building local relationships and connecting to employers.

With its large asylee population, the ethnically diverse greater D.C. region has long been identified as an area in need in of UpGlo’s services. For the past year, UpGlo has been working with the International Rescue Committee (IRC) in Silver Spring. IRC has already referred more than 55 jobseekers, and UpGlo has placed 28 skilled immigrants and refugees in the region through the work of our online training program team in 2014. We also partnered with Accenture to host two networking events in 2014, and held a resume review event with volunteers from Returned Peace Corps Volunteers of Washington, D.C.

The office officially opened in December with the hire of a full-time staff member, and we look forward to expanding our services and strengthening partnerships in the coming year.