Welcome to Year Up Chicago. Founded in 2000 in Boston, Year Up is a one year intensive technical and professional skills development program serving predominantly low income urban 18-24 year olds who have a HS Diploma or GED.  Over the course of the program young adults will receive 6 months of college credited skills development and a 6 month internship with major corporations. Our founding partners include Citadel, JP Morgan Chase, Bank of America, CDW, Unisys, and AON.  

Year Up Chicago site opened its doors in September of 2010. We have been overwhelmed with the warm welcome and support from both corporate and community partners.

WHO WE SERVE
Year Up serves high school graduates and GED recipients ages 18 to 24 years old from the Chicago, Illinois area.

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WHAT'S NEW
Year Up program highlighted by CA Technologies.
Read more

Citadel and Year Up Closing the Opportunity Gap
Read more

Year Up celebrates new Chicago site with ribbon cutting ceremony.
Read more

mayor richard daley welcomes year up
Read the letter

GET INVOLVED!
To become a corporate partner, fill out our interest form.
To become a volunteer, fill out our interest form.
Interested in working for Year Up Chicago? View our current opportunities.

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PROSPECTIVE STUDENTS
Our March 2012 class is now full.
We are no longer accepting applications. We encourage you to fill out our student interest form for the September 2012 class and review our website for more information about the program.

Open House
Date: TBD
Attendance at an Open House is a mandatory part of the admissions process.

Location:
203 North Lasalle Street, Suite M18, Chicago
Please call Amy Cheng, Admissions Manger, to reserve a spot at
312-726-5300 Ext. 4507

Interested to see what our classes are like?
Student Handbook
Student Contract
Sample Class Schedule
Course LIst
Business Communications Syllabus
Business Communications Lab Syllabus
Introduction to Computer Applications, Software, Computer Hardware and
Introduction to Computer Information Systems Syllabus
Professional Skills Syllabus
Networking Concepts
Writer's Workshop

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EVENTS
There are no events currently scheduled.

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CONTACT US
Address:
Year Up Chicago
203 N. LaSalle St. Suite M-18
Chicago, IL 60601

Phone and Fax Information:
Phone: 312-726-5300
Fax: 312-726-5320

For driving directions:

View Larger Map

For general questions, contact:
Jihye Lee
Operations Manager
312-726-5300 ext. 4502
jlee@yearup.org

For questions about becoming a Year Up student, contact:
Amy Cheng
Admissions Manager
312-726-5300 ext. 4507
acheng@yearup.org
or fill out our interest form

To hire a Year Up intern, contact:
Alan Anderson
Executive Director
312-726-5300 ext. 4501
aanderson01@YearUp.org
Cell: 773-841-3866

To volunteer at Year Up, contact:
Jihye Lee
Operations Manager
312-726-5300 ext 4502
jlee@yearup.org
773-598-5533

To invest in or donate to Year Up, contact:
Alan Anderson
Executive Director
312-726-5300 ext. 4501
aanderson01@YearUp.org
Cell: 773-841-3866

Media Inquiries, Contact:
Roberto Zeledon
Senior Director of Marketing & Communications
rzeledon@YearUp.org
617-542-1533 ext. 1563

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OUR TEAM

Previously, Alan was the Acting Chief School Design Officer in the Chief Administrative Office for Chicago Public Schools. In this role, Alan was responsible for re-designing and aligning the school closing and opening process to impact SY12 school openings. He was also responsible for leading a city-wide education and advocacy process to inform parents and families on the performance of their school and mobilizing parent and community leaders to develop and choose the educational solutions to fix their failing school. Alan also served as the Acting Deputy CEO for Human Capital and before that as the Executive Director of the Office of School Turnaround for Chicago Public Schools. Alan has also served the district as Deputy Director of Research, Evaluation and Accountability and as a Project Manager. Alan participated in The Broad Residency in Urban Education Cohort 2006, serving his two-year Residency in Chicago Public Schools.

Before joining Chicago Public Schools, Alan worked at Motorola, Inc for nearly nine years. Most recently at Motorola, he served as Business Manager for Motorola’s Transmission Group where he was responsible for the company’s $6.5 million transmission business for the Ford Motor Company. He has previously served as design engineer, design team leader and project manager at Motorola. Alan earned a bachelor’s degree in Electrical Engineering from the University of Michigan, a master’s degree in Electrical Engineering from McCormick School of Engineering at Northwestern University, and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University.  Alan has a wife, Pamela and two children, Ashley and David.

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RÉnu Beniwal
Program Director
Rénu joins the Year Up team with several years of experience as a project manager for a national leadership consulting firm and as an educator in higher education. Rénu’s passion for empowering young adults goes beyond the classroom and into the community. Rénu has coordinated youth programs in Southern California addressing race relation issues in the community and has taught intercultural communication and speech communication at Howard University. Rénu combines her skills and passion for communication education and empowering youth by instructing Year Up’s business writing course. Rénu earned an M.A. in Communication & Culture from Howard University and a B.A. in Sociology from San Diego State University.

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Jared Deane
Information Technology Instructor
Jared joins the Year Up Chicago team as Information Technology Instructor. Jared is originally from Virginia and graduated from the University of Virginia with a degree in Electrical Engineering. After graduating from college, he worked in the Telecommunications industry as a Field Technician and Consultant. Jared continued his education at the University of Florida where he earned a MS in Systems Engineering and a PhD in Health Services Research. One of the research projects that he worked on during his time in graduate school examined the utilization of Information Technology in medical group practices. After completing graduate school, he moved to Chicago where he worked as an analyst in the healthcare industry before he started teaching on the college level at Robert Morris University and the City Colleges of Chicago.

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Phoebe Cherenfant Williams
Outreach, Admissions and Student Services Director
A native of Boston, MA, Phoebe Cherenfant joins Year Up from the Chicago Public School system. With CPS Phoebe was working as a counselor for the country's first Turnaround High School. There she focused on implementing restorative justice initiatives, facilitating individual and group counseling, and ensuring that students at every age level were prepared for post secondary endeavors. Prior to working with CPS, Phoebe's experience was focused in community mental health, youth development, and national service. She has worked in agencies ranging from the Juvenile Court's Child Advocacy Center, to AmeriCorps NCCC, to local community youth agencies. Phoebe earned a Bachelors degree in Sociology and Economics from Emory University and a Masters of Arts in Social Work from the University of Chicago.

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Jihye Lee
Operations Manager
Jihye joins the Year Up Chicago team as Start Up Operations Manager. She initially started at Year Up New York in September 2008. Jihye was born in South Korea, moved to Brooklyn when she was 6, not speaking any English, and attended NYC public schools. In May 2008, Jihye graduated from Pace University magna cum laude in Political Science. Also in 2008, Jihye completed the Jeannette K. Watson Fellowship, a competitive award for undergraduates from universities in the metropolitan NYC region that provides internships for three consecutive summers. Through the Watson Fellowship, Jihye was an intern at the Legal Resources Centre in South Africa; at Trickle Up, a non-profit organization that assists families around the world to step out of poverty by awarding microgrants; and at the NYC Department of Youth and Community Development, where she helped to plan and execute the startup of NYC GirlsREACH, a gender-specific corporate internship program for promising New York City public high school students from areas of need. Jihye worked throughout college as a coordinator for the Pace University's NYC internship program and a Sunday School Teacher and Korean School Coordinator at her local church, and she was also active in Model United Nations. She completed her junior year abroad in Florence and Rome, studying European politics and Roman history.

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Freddrick Logan
Information Technology Instructor
Freddrick Logan, http://www.freddricklogan.com, is a PhD candidate at Illinois Institute of Technology. In addition to teaching TECH courses at Year Up Chicago, Freddrick is also an adjunct faculty in the Department of Business and Computer Information Systems for the City Colleges of Chicago. His current research explores digital literacies and open video in technical and scientific communication. Freddrick designs, observes and measures learning activities that use free open source software (FOSS) to create participatory media for the World Wide Web, especially or more specifically digital video. Other research interests include the use of FOSS to create professional content, distance learning and information architecture. Freddrick possesses Master of Science degrees in both Business Information Technology and Digital Media respectively, as well as Baccalaureate degree in Computer Science. Applying over 10 years of dynamic training and experiences in computation, information design and digital media, Freddrick also leads a small firm that provides small businesses with solutions in information architecture/ content management.

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Holly Munk
Business Communications Instructor
Holly joins the Year Up Chicago team as Business Communications Instructor. Holly grew up in the Chicago area and graduated from Saint Xavier University summa cum laude in English. While at Saint Xavier, she worked as a writing tutor in the university’s learning center and also interned in the public relations department of The Field Museum in Chicago. After graduating from Saint Xavier, Holly worked for Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management where she planned and marketed academic events for students and alumni. While working at Kellogg, Holly received her MA from Northwestern with a specialization in American Literature and served as a Teaching Assistant for undergraduate students. After receiving her degree, Holly joined East-West University as an Adjunct English and Communications Instructor and taught a variety of courses. In her spare time, Holly enjoys running on the lakefront, practicing yoga and exploring the city of Chicago.

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Denean Pillar
Corporate and Donor Engagement Manager
Denean joins Year Up with a multidisciplinary background that most recently includes five years as a Business Development/Project Manager for a national staffing organization that specializes in servicing state agencies, non profits and for profits in implementing programs for low-wage workers. Denean also worked 13 years in the financial industry in various capacities, including equity and options trading, equity research and compliance. Most importantly, Denean brings to Year Up Chicago, her commitment and passion for using her expertise and talents to serve others. Denean earned a Bachelors of Science Degree majoring in Finance from Hampton University and a Masters of Science Degree from the Illinois Institute of Technology specializing in Financial Markets and Trading. She is also a yoga instructor dedicated to teaching students in urban areas, the benefits of exploring a yoga practice.

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Ashley Russell
Information Technology Instructor / IT Support
Ashley joins the Year Up Chicago team as an Information Technology Instructor and as IT Support. Ashley is a native of Chicago, from the city’s south side. He graduated from Saint Mary’s University of Minnesota with a degree in Philosophy. Later, Ashley continued his education at the American Intercontinental University where he earned a MSEd in Instructional Design. Within his first three months of employment Ashley created an instructional program, tailor made for each department, demonstrating the use of the service ticket creation software used by the company. Ashley brings a great deal of hands on experience from his IT career and many years of customer service. He began repairing company equipment issued by the IT department from hardware to the software level for GPSs, credit card machines, cell phones, printers, and tablet PCs. This work resulted in saving the company thousands of dollars per year that would normally be used to outsource the repairs. Over his career in IT, Ashley conducted several training classes on the equipment utilized by the company. The classes consisted of basic device use and troubleshooting.

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