Year Up New York City is excited to have welcomed its first class of students on September 5, 2006. Located across the street from the New York Stock Exchange in the heart of New York’s financial district, the site serves urban young adults from across the five boroughs.

WHAT'S NEW:
CONGRATULATIONS CLASS OF jANUARY 2008

Platinum Sponsors:

NYC hosted its second graduation on January 29th, 2008 in the atrium of the Embassy Suites Hotel, World Financial Center. We were overwhelmed by the impressive turnout for our 2nd graduation ceremony. Our graduation brought together 300 corporate and community partners, Year Up mentors and alumni to welcome the 26 graduates and their families. We were fortunate to be sponsored by Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, Centerline Capital Group and Morgan Stanley. Sabet Elias, Chief Technology Officer at Lehman Brothers, honored us as the keynote speaker, and we presented him with the Urban Empowerment Award. Mr. Elias spoke of his personal journey, the value of partnering with Year Up, and the need of programs like Year Up NYC for our city's youth.

Jason Coullette, the student speaker and an apprentice with Lehman Brothers, moved the audience with his words; "My life and the lives of my family and friends have been changed forever. Because of Year Up, I have the knowledge and skills to go anywhere and succeed even after today."

The strength of the graduating class was complemented by support from our corporate partners. At present, 65% of our graduates have received full-time offers with the goal of 85% securing full-time employment within the next few months.

10 students received $1,000 scholarships to continue their education. The funding for these scholarships was made possible by generous support from Nancy and Michael Feller, Molly and Michael Bogdan and Gregory Gunn. These scholarships reward our partnership with Pace University, which provides our students with the chance to earn up to 16 transferable college credits.

Our inaugural graduation represented a major milestone in youth workforce development in New York City; Year Up NYC's second graduation represents the overwhelming dedication and support for this work by the city's corporate and public communities, and a turning point in the lives of the 26 graduates we honored in our ceremony.

Additionally, Year Up NYC is honored to announce the Class of July 2008 awards:

The Dave Retik Award for Excellence: Sylvia Ramos

The Chris Mello Award for Leadership: Roberto Velez

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WHO WE SERVE:
Neighborhoods across New York City are represented by Year Up New York City’s students: Bedford-Stuyvesant, Brooklyn; the South Bronx; Harlem; East Harlem; the Lower East Side; Bayside, Queens; and Staten Island.

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BOARD MEMBERS
new york advisory board

• David Fike
  Chief Technical Officer
  Marsh & McLennan Companies
• Charles D. Ellis
  Greenwich Associates
  Harvard Partners ' 63
• Joseph Smialowski
  Former Executive Vice President of Operations and Technology
  Freddie Mac

national Board of Directors

national Technical Advisory Board

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CONTACT US
Address:
Year Up New York City
55 Exchange Place
Suite 403
New York, New York 10005

Phone: 212-785-3340

For driving directions:

For general questions, contact:
Keanna King
kking@yearup.org

For questions about becoming a Year Up student, contact:
Melissa Ramirez at mramirez@yearup.org or
James O'Farrow at jofarrow@yearup.org

To hire a Year Up apprentice, contact:
Dennis Acevedo
dacevedo@yearup.org

To volunteer at Year Up, contact:
Melissa Ramirez
mramirez@yearup.org

To invest in or donate to Year Up, contact:
Lisette Nieves
lnieves@yearup.org

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES
IT Support Instructor, New York City

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OUR TEAM, new york city

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Dennis Acevedo
Director of Corporate Apprenticeships and Partner Relations
Dennis most recently worked with the NYC Department of Education as a Parent Support Officer for Community School District 7 located in the South Bronx. In this role, Dennis served as a problem solver for hundreds of parent concerns in what is one of the most challenging and troubled school districts in New York City. He advised school-based parent coordinators at 25 elementary and middle schools and provided training and technical assistance to parent leaders and administrators throughout the district. Prior to this position, Dennis was the Executive Director of the Latino Student Fund, an organization which has provided scholarship grants, tutoring services, and intensive educational opportunities to over 300 Hispanic families in the Washington D.C. metropolitan area since its inception. Dennis earned a BA in Psychology from S.U.N.Y. @ Stonybrook and an MS in Nonprofit Management from the Milano Graduate School of Urban Policy & Analysis – New School University.

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Jessica Cogan
Director of Academics
Jessica joins Year Up with a wide range of experience as a freelance writer, communications consultant and English instructor. Jessica taught and coached at the college level for more than five years in San Diego before relocating to New York City. In New York, Jessica taught high school English and worked with large corporate clients as a communications consultant. Before joining Year Up, Jessica worked as a freelance writer with a diverse range of clients all over the United States. She earned a Masters in English Literature from the University of Maryland and a BA from the University of California, San Diego.

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Will DeSmit
Executive Assistant
Will DeSmit joins Year Up full-time as Executive Assistant after more than a year as an intern, part-time staff member, and member of the startup team for the New York City site. He has participated in rebuilding efforts in Gulfport, MS, post-Katrina, and headed a large NYU event sponsored by Amnesty International to raise awareness and activity for Darfur. Recently, he served as an intern with the LGBT Project at the ACLU's national office, and as President of the ACLU campus organization at NYU, where he graduated with a degree in individualized study from the Gallatin School, concentrating in Education, Social Work and Civil Rights.

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Ben Dworken
IT Instructor
Ben joins Year Up NYC with years of practical technology experience.
Prior to joining Year Up, he worked as a research chemist for General
Electric. He has also spent time working as a substitute math and
science teacher, and as an assistant at a culinary school. He enjoys
travel and has plenty of experiences to share. Ben graduated from
Cornell University with a BS in Materials Science and Engineering.

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Karen Fleshman
Director of Cultivation and Special Events
Karen joins Year Up from the Department of Youth and Community Development, where she specialized in youth workforce development. She served DYCD as Assistant General Counsel, Director of Internal Review, and Director of Special Projects. Karen started up and implemented many high-profile initiatives, including NYC GirlsREACH, a gender-specific corporate sector internship program for high school juniors from areas of need, and Citizenship NYC, a service that assisted 50,000 New Yorkers to apply for US Citizenship. She is a graduate of Mount Holyoke College (B.A., Latin American Studies), the University of Texas (M.A., Radio-TV-Film), and New York Law School (J.D., cum laude), and is admitted to practice law in New York. Karen serves on the boards of the Mariachi Academy of New York City, New Immigrant Community Empowerment, and the Luz C. Colon Memorial Fund.

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Jesse Goldberg
Grant Coordinator
Jesse joined the Year Up team early in 2007 as Grants Coordinator, focusing on grant writing and reporting. In addition to his fundraising responsibilities, Jesse oversees Year Up’s budgeting process and teaches a weekly current events class. Prior to joining Year Up NYC, Jesse spent two years as an intern in the district office of Congressman Edward Markey, followed by his role as Deputy Field Director on a Massachusetts State Senate campaign, where he was responsible for coordinating volunteers and developing voter turnout strategies. Jesse earned his BA in Political Science from Tufts University in 2004.

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Andres Gomez
Student Advocate and Work Support Specialist
Andres joins Year-Up New York in partnership with Community Service Society of New York as part of a new Pilot Program designed to give wrap-around advocacy and support services to Year Up NYC's students.  A Queens resident, Andres comes to Year Up NYC with 3 years of experience in foster care.  Within the foster care system, Andres has worked as a caseworker, home finder, and Education/Vocation Coordinator for the Youth Development Program.  As an undergraduate at Stony Brook University, Andres majored in Sociology and Minored in Child & Family Studies.  Andres received his MSW from Stony Brook University.

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Keanna King
Site Operations Coordinator/Site Leader
Keanna King joins Year Up NYC as a transfer from Year Up's Cambridge facility as the Site Operations Coordinator. A native of Boston, MA, she is a graduate of Year Up's class of July 2004 and a recipient of the David E. Retik Award for Excellence. She apprenticed at State Street Research and later became a Year Up employee. Keanna holds a degree in Psychology from Cambridge College.

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Massomeh Muhammad
Alumni Coordinator/FAO Schwarz Fellow
Massomeh joins the New York City Year Up team as a FAO Schwarz Fellow.  Before working at Year Up, she was a teaching artist at after-school programs across New York City where she taught origami, bookmaking, and mask making.  She also interned in the education department at the Skyscraper Museum in Lower Manhattan. Massomeh recently graduated from New York University with a bachelor's degree in Gender and Sexuality Studies and Psychology. 

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Vivian Nuñez
IT Instructor
Vivian joins Year Up with ten years of experience teaching and training in the field of technical administration and support.  Prior to joining Year Up, she worked as the Manager of Adminstrative System Services and Acting Director of Information Technology at the DeVry Institute of Technology.  Vivian holds an MS degree in Management Information Systems from the Stevens Institute of Technology.

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James O'Farrow
Admissions Coordinator
James joins the Year Up NYC staff as graduate from the Providence office. As a student, James apprenticed with Gilbane Building Company as a Helpdesk Technician, updating server content and maintaining company computers. The Providence site immediately recognized his potential, and upon graduation, retained him temporarily as the Assistant IT instructor. Most recently, James finished a six month contract as a Helpdesk Support Technician working for Bank of America. James joined the New York team as a full-time Assistant IT instructor and recently transitioned to the Admissions Coordinator.

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Charmaine Peart-HoSang
Director of Outreach and Student Services
Charmaine joins the NYC Year Up team as the Director of Outreach & Student Services. Charmaine recently worked as the Director of the NYC Youthline which specializes in providing information/referral/crisis intervention for youth, parents and service providers throughout the City. Charmaine hails from Toronto, Canada where she earned her BS in Psychology from York University and earned her MSW in Administration and Case Work from the Hunter College School of Social Work based in New York City.

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Melissa Ramirez
Admissions and Volunteer Coordinator
Melissa joins Year Up NYC as Admissions and Volunteer Coordinator after extensive work with youth across New York City. Most recently, she worked with Astor Home for Children as a screener to identify children with social-emotional needs. She has done extensive outreach into public schools and Head Start centers in the Bronx working with principals and other school staff. In 2006-2007, she was a Public Service Scholar through Hunter College, which offered her the opportunity to explore public service at the Department of Youth and Community Development as an intern. Prior to the scholar program, she volunteered for a year in Kravis Children’s Mt. Sinai Hospital with the Child Life Program, where she helped youth to cope with their experience in the ICU. Melissa recently graduated from Hunter College with a BA in Pyschology.

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SID ROSS
Business Communications Instructor
Sid Ross has been involved in adult education as an instructor, teacher-trainer, administrator and writer. Previous to joining Year Up, he was the education manager at Grace Institute, a nonprofit job-training program for economically underserved women. Sid holds a BA in English Literature from New York University and is currently a master's candidate in the Adult Learning and Leadership Department at Teachers College, Columbia University.

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Wilfrid Velazquez
Admissions Specialist/Site Leader
Wilfrid most recently worked as a Financial Aid/Student Services Representative with Career Blazers Learning Center in New York City. In this role, Wilfrid served as an advisor on financial and student issues for more than 250 students. Prior to this, Wilfrid worked for many years at Hispanic Young People's Alternatives (HYPA), an organization that served over a thousand participants per year in providing educational, recreational, and artistic activities to youth ages 6 through 18 years of age in Sunset Park, Brooklyn. At HYPA, Wilfrid served in many different capacities from their Performing Arts Director, Assistant Beacon Site Director, and finally as the Office Manager to the HYPA Main Office. Wilfrid plans to graduate from Brooklyn College in the spring of 2008. He is very thrilled to be a part of Year Up NYC.

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Janelle Viruet
Partner Relations Manager
Janelle Viruet joins Year Up as the Partner Relations Manager with extensive experience in human resources administration and has advised and interviewed hundreds of jobseekers throughout her career. She has worked at Cabrini Medical Center and most recently with Town Sports International managing benefits programs for hundreds of employees and working with corporate vendors on a daily basis. Janelle earned her B.A. in Psychology from Long Island University and her M.S. in Counseling from Pace University. She has also earned 31 credits towards a doctorate degree in Clinical Psychology.