Year Up NYC welcomed its first class of students in September, 2006; in 2009, we will enroll 160. Located across the street from the New York Stock Exchange in the heart of New York City’s financial district, the site serves urban young adults from across the five boroughs.

WHAT'S NEW:
Robin Hood Heroes Award
Each December, The Robin Hood Foundation celebrates the people and organizations in NYC who have made extraordinary contributions in the fight against poverty. While the heroes are diverse—they may be an executive director, staff member, volunteer or corporate partner—they share many of the same qualities: tenacity, selflessness, innovation and the ability to profoundly affect peoples’ lives. Each Hero receives an award of $50,000 for the organization they represent. 

On December 2, 2008, Year Up NYC was honored as a Hero (one of 4 of Robin Hood's 240 grantees). Among the many distinguished guests and speakers, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg spoke about the importance of recognizing the high return on investment in organizations that address social services and education. On behalf of Year Up NYC, alumnus Roberto Velez and Executive Director Lisette Nieves shared their personal stories and their “Year Up” in their acceptance speech. Please click on the link below to view both speakers accept the award.

http://www.robinhood.org./heroes/roberto-velez-and-lisette-nieves.aspx

YEAR UP NYC hosts succesful DINNER AT CIPRIANI WALL STREET on october 30th, 2008.
Year Up NYC’s first fundraising Dinner was attended by five hundred guests from across the country, including executives from corporate partners, private equity firms, hedge funds, and tech companies, as well as government officials, philanthropists,  community leaders, and Year Up NYC students and alumni. The program included remarks by Lisette Nieves, Executive Director of Year Up NYC and Gerald Chertavian, CEO and Founder of Year Up. Guest speaker, Iman, shared with students that they should always know and define their worth in their own terms and not based on the lens through which others view them. Honoree Andrea Taylor, Director of Community Affairs for Microsoft North America, received the Urban Empowerment Award recognizing her 25 plus years of working with community based organizations world wide to bridge the digital divide. In her acceptance speech, Andrea discussed how Microsoft views Year Up as best in class and a model that can scale across the country to close the digital divide.

The focus of the evening was on the transformative journey of Year Up NYC students. Sylvia Ramos, a Class 2 alumna who is a Treasury and Futures Analyst at Barclays, was the MC, and John Sherman, an Alumnus of Class 2 who provides desktop IT support at Sotheby’s, was the student speaker. They were both tremendously inspiring as they described the impact that Year Up made on their lives. In addition, a video premiered documenting a day in the life of Class 5 Student Dahiana Lessard, Class 4 Apprentice at the DTCC Jade Cooper, and Roberto Velez, an alumnus from Class 2 who is a Senior Specialist in Settlement Client Services at Merrill Lynch. Please click on the link below to watch the video.
http://www.vimeo.com/yearup

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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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• Joseph Smialowski (Chairman)
  Former Executive Vice President
  Freddie Mac
• Charles D. Ellis
  Greenwich Associates
  Harvard Partners of '63
• David Fike
  Chief Technology Officer
  Marsh & McLennan Companies
• Bill Lehman
  Partner
  TechPar Group
• David Salomon
  Managing Member
  East End Advisors
• Phil Schneidermeyer
  Partner
  Heidrick & Struggles
• Sarah Steiger
  Sales Director
  Microsoft

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

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
Academic Program VISTA Associate, New York City
FAO Schwartz Fellowships, New York City
IT Support Specialist, New York City

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OUR TEAM, new york city

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Dennis Acevedo
Director of Corporate Apprenticeships
Dennis was one of the founding staff members of Year Up NYC and was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY.  Dennis currently serves as the Director of Corporate Apprenticeships and initially held the position of Director of Outreach and Admissions when first launching Year Up NYC.  Dennis has held a variety of leadership roles serving young people and prior to joining Year Up he worked on city-wide initiatives with the NYC Department of Education and did extensive work in Community School District 7 located in the South Bronx. Dennis also held the position of Executive Director of the Latino Student Fund, an organization he helped build in Washington, DC, which has provided scholarship grants, tutoring services, and educational opportunities to the Latino community in DC.  Dennis also worked with the March of Dimes National Office as the Manager of National Youth Programs and helped hundreds of high school and college chapters across the country raise $1.2M annually for the prevention of birth defects and infant mortality. Dennis earned a BA in Psychology from S.U.N.Y. @ Stonybrook and an MS in Nonprofit Management from the New School University Graduate School of Urban Policy & Analysis.

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monika ahluwalia
IT Instructor
Before teaching at Year Up, Monika worked as a full time Computer Science Lecturer for Maharaja Surajmal Institute of Technology (MSIT) affiliated to Indraprastha University, New Delhi, India where she delivered lectures to junior and senior year students of Bachelors of Technology (B.Tech) in Computer Science and Information Technology in subjects like Software Engineering, Interface Programming and Operating Systems. In 2004, she also led work on designing and evaluating innovative user interfaces using HTML and WIN32API on Visual Studio and was appointed as a University Student's exam evaluator for the subject of Software Engineering. Prior to that, she worked as a full time Project Trainee in Standardization, Testing, Quality Assurance Directorate, (STQC), a Ministry of Information Technology, Delhi Government organization in India. She holds a Bachelors of Engineering with Honors degree in Computer Science from RGPV, India and a Masters of Technology (Silver Medalist) in Computer Science from Banasthali Vidyapith, India.

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Vilasinee Bunnag
Director of Operations
Vilasinee joins Year Up from Management Leadership for Tomorrow (MLT) where she led the partner relations effort working with over 60 corporate and business school partners. Prior to building the partner relations group, Vilasinee worked on the MLT program team scaling the admissions process and creating core curriculum and seminars for over 350 MLT fellows. Prior to MLT, Vilasinee worked as lead project and strategic manager at Goldman Sachs for new business development under GS.com and the Investment Management Group. She also led the employee community and philanthropic engagement initiatives in the Charitable Services Group working with various non-profits throughout New York. Vilasinee was born and raised in Bangkok, Thailand, she holds a B.S. in Finance and Philosophy from University of California, Berkeley and San Francisco State University and an M.B.A from the Stern School of Business at New York University.

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Melissa Cantave
Academic Manager
Melissa joins Year Up with over 10 years of experience in the field of education.  Before joining Year Up, Melissa was part of the founding team of La Cima Charter School located in Brooklyn, NY.  As the Manager of Operations, she was responsible for supporting and implementing systems for student enrollment, transportation, meals and technology.  Prior to La Cima, she worked for The Princeton Review as a Director of Development.  In this role she was responsible for developing after-school tutoring programs at various school sites throughout New York City.  Melissa earned a BA in Psychology from Loyola University, New Orleans, and an MS in Industrial Organizational Development Psychology from Carlos Albizu University, Miami, FL. 

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william cazco
IT Instructor
William Cazco brings 15 years of training experience to Year Up. He joined Chemical Bank, a Chase predecessor, in 1992 as a consultant for the Retail Training Group. In this role, Will delivered training for tellers, personal bankers and branch managers on topics such as policy and procedure, regulations, systems, and sales and service. He also worked closely with the Financial Advisors creating training materials and conducting training sessions via phone, PC and face-to-face. The branch visits were so successful that this practice later became part of the instructors' job description. Will is currently pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Computer Science in NYC.

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Crystal Fields-Sam
Director of Corporate Engagement
Crystal comes to Year Up from Citi Market and Banking where she spent 8 years on the sales side for institutional fixed income, global fixed income and fixed income, currency and commodity structured products. She will bring her sales, relationship and analytical experiences to help "put Year Up out of business."

Crystal is a graduate of Hampton University and was in the U.S. Navy for 4 years where she was stationed in D.C., Greece, Italy and Israel.  She is also a board member of New Perspectives Theater and a marathoner.

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Karen Fleshman
Director of Policy and Grants Management
Karren 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 and the Luz C. Colon Memorial Fund.

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Jesse Goldberg
Grants Manager
Jesse joined the Year Up NYC team early in 2007 and currently manages and writes Year Up's grant proposals.  In addition to his fundraising responsibilities, Jesse works with the Operations team on financial forecasting and budgeting.  When not in front of his computer, Jesse teaches a weekly current events class. Prior to joining Year Up NYC, Jesse spent two years 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. He 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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Linzey Jones
Admissions and Database Coordinator
Linzey Jones joins the Year Up NYC team as the Admissions and Database coordinator in the Outreach and Student Services Department. Prior to Year Up, Linzey worked in Wireless Generation as a Customer Data Representative. In the Customer Data department his responsibilities ranged from the role of system matter expert on various databases, working as a liaison with the IT department, and assisting customers in all data-related matters. In addition, Linzey is a professional Director and Vocalist. Linzey earned his Bachelor of Music from Manhattan School of Music for classical voice in 2005. He is thankful for the opportunity to be apart of the empowerment and mission that Year Up provides for its young adults.

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Keanna King
Site Leader
Keanna King joins Year Up NYC as a native of Boston, MA and a transfer from Year Up's former Cambridge facility. She is a graduate of Year Up Boston’s class of July 2004 and a recipient of the David E. Retik Award for Excellence. She apprenticed at State Street Research as a Web Production intern and later became a Year Up employee. As one of the founding members of Year Up NYC, she served as the Site Operations Coordinator. Currently a Site Leader, Keanna ensures that students and staff are held to high expectations with high support. She believes that each student’s success is important and provides high quality service to make it happen. She is a Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership Alum. Keanna holds a B.A. in Psychology from Cambridge College. Keanna is privileged to offer support and experience to young adults who need a Year Up.

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Jihye Lee
Events Coordinator
Jihye joins the Year Up team as Events and Grants Coordinator. 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, and speaks fluent Korean, Italian, and French.

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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 Administrative 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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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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Ryan Quadrel
VISTA Academic Associate
Ryan joins Year Up NYC as a VISTA Academic Associate. Prior to Year Up, he worked at the New Paltz campus of the State University of New York as a teaching assistant for Research Methods in Anthropology. His work as a research assistant is currently being published in a methods journal for upcoming SUNY students. Dedicated to fulfilling his year of service with Americorps, he is eager to take this first step into what he is hoping will evolve into a long-term career with Year Up.  He aspires to apply this education and his knowledge of computer-based data analysis to the strategic growth of the company and its culture.

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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 Psychology.

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Margaret Rizzo
Office Manager
Margaret has extensive experience in creating, systematizing, and centralizing processes. She comes to Year Up after seven years of overseeing exams at Brooklyn Law School. At Brooklyn Law School she oversaw a team of 100+ of proctors while maintaining the highest quality of service to the faculty, administration and students. Margaret holds a BA from Fordham in Media Studies, a MA from Columbia University in Gender Ethics, and a MA from Union Theological Seminary in Social Ethics. Margaret is a freelance photographer and is the founder of a travel group for women. In her spare time she tutors public high school students from NYC and the greater NY area for NY State Regents Exams, PSAT, SAT, Calculus, and Language Arts/English.

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SID ROSS
Director of Academics
Sid Ross has been involved in adult education for over two decades as an instructor, manager, and teacher-trainer. Previous to joining Year Up, he was the education manager at Grace Institute, a nonprofit job-training program, where he designed and wrote the curriculum for its business skills program. He was also an instructor and an educational supervisor at the New York Association for New Americans, which at one time housed the country’s largest ESL program. A professional writer, Sid wrote for Adweek magazine and the Queens Gazette; is a founding member of WritersGroup, a playwriting collective; and has had his plays produced in New York and Bath, ME. Perhaps his most prized accomplishment, however, is the Year Up Instructional Excellence award he won in 2008. 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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Skye Suttie
Business Communications Instructor
Before teaching at Year Up, Skye was as an English Instructor at Clemson University in Clemson, SC where she taught literature and writing classes. Prior to beginning her teaching career, Skye worked as a writer and editor’s assistant for a Long Island-based newspaper. In 2003, before beginning graduate school at Clemson, Skye lived in Spain and later studied in Ireland. Skye holds a Bachelor’s degree in English from SUNY Geneseo, and a Master’s degree in English Literature from Clemson University.

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Wilfrid Velazquez
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. In late 2007, Wilfrid completed the United Way Junior Fellows Program. The United Way Junior Fellows Program is an intensive management program for non-for-profit professionals. Wilfrid plans to graduate from Brooklyn College in the spring of 2010. 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.

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Malik Williams
Business Communications Fellow
Malik joins Year Up NYC as a Business Communications Fellow. Prior to Year Up, he worked at Saint Joseph's University as a tutor in the writing lab and also worked in the entertainment marketing sector. After being involved with and inspired by Year Up through a volunteer assignment, Malik decided to shift gears and accept a full time position. Malik attended the University of Massachusetts at Amherst and will be completing his education in NYC.

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