Year Up's Washington D.C. site opened its doors in February of 2006. We have been overwhelmed with the warm welcome and support from both corporate and community partners in the Capital Region. Over 33,000 young adults in the DC area do not have access to livable wage careers or higher education. Our inaugural class has proven that these young adults are capable of adding immediate value to local companies, and we look forward to closing the opportunity divide in this community with your help.

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President Obama Visits Year Up

On Friday, June 19, 2009, Year Up was honored and recognized by President Barack Obama with a visit to our Washington, DC site. Our students, staff, corporate and philanthropic partners hosted the president as he toured the program.

The President toured the Year Up Washington D.C, site and was hosted by students who demonstrated their skills in business communications and computer hardware assembly. Mr. Obama then sat and talked with students about the challenges and opportunities facing young adults and the country.

He took some questions from the students. One of the students asked if he would ever consider hosting an apprentice in the White House, and he replied, "We have a bunch of interns running around there now, I don't see why we can't have someone from Year Up participate, you can probably fix a few things."

The day's events serve to launch an ongoing White House effort on fatherhood and mentoring. Forums will be hosted around the country this summer and fall to gather ideas on good programs and to help promote them. The President expressed an interest in understanding what works about Year Up that could be useful in helping him improve the community college system so that it prepares all young people for successful careers.

After visiting the D.C. site, Mr. Obama went back to the White House to host an event to discuss fatherhood and mentoring followed by an event with young men from local schools on the South Lawn. Juan Carlos Artero, a Year Up alumnus and current staff member, traveled with the President to the White House event and is speaking at the event about the Year Up model and how the program has helped him succeed and provide for his family.

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WHO WE SERVE
Year Up serves high school graduates and GED recipients ages 18 to 24 years old from the Metro Washington D.C. area. Currently we have students from the District, Prince Georges County, Montgomery County, and Fairfax County.

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EVENTS
There are no events currently scheduled.

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BOARD MEMBERS
Washington D.C. ADVISORY BOARD

• John King - Chairman
  Vice President & Founder
  Perot Systems Corporation
• Ted Cahall
  Executive Vice President
  AOL
• Bill Kennard
  Managing Director
  The Carlyle Group
• Bruce Rosenblum
  Managing Director
  The Carlyle Group

national Board of Directors

national Technical Advisory Board

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CONTACT US
Address:
Year Up, Washington D.C.  
1560 Wilson Blvd., Suite 350
Arlington, VA 22209

Phone and Fax:
Phone: 703-312-9327
Fax: 703-312-7986

For driving directions:

For questions about becoming a Year Up student, contact:
Anne Moredock
amoredock@yearup.org

To hire a Washington D.C. apprentice, contact:
Hamid Elaissami
helaissami@yearup.org

To volunteer at Year Up, contact:
Ronda Thompson
rthompson@yearup.org

To invest in or donate to Year Up, contact:
Tynesia Boyea-Robinson
tboyea@yearup.org

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JOB OPPORTUNITIES
IT Instructor, Washington, D.C
Director of Development, Washington, D.C

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JUAN CARLOS ARTERO
Junior Tech Instructor
Juan Carlos is a Junior Tech Instructor and a graduate of Year Up program has been employed of Year Up since Aug 2007. He enrolled as a student in September 2006 and completed his apprenticeship at Freddie Mac. After graduating from the program he became as employee of Year up Washington Dc as Junior Tech Instructor and IT Support. Currently he is working on his Network + certification and attending NOVA community college for his Associate Degree in Networking Engineering. Juan Carlos Is a native of El Salvador and reside in Arlington Virginia with his 5 months girl Shantell Alexa.

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RÉnu Beniwal
Business Writing Instructor
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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Nikki Berte
Director of People Development
Nikki comes to Year Up with experience in many different educational environments and a love for working with young adults. As part of Year Up's start-up team, Nikki has been instrumental in developing Year Up's professional skills and business communications curricula. Prior to joining Year Up, Nikki worked in a variety of Boston area schools and local programs throughout Mattapan and Dorchester. There, she helped develop and taught in Youth to Work, literacy, and ESL programs. She has also taught English abroad, including one year in Bangkok, Thailand. Nikki graduated from Boston University with a major in English and a minor in Spanish.

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Angela Marie Da Costa
IT Instructor
Angela, a native Washingtonian by birth, now happily resides in Northern Virginia. Ms. Da Costa has earned a Masters degree in Information Systems Management (MISM) from Keller Graduate School of Management, Washington DC; a Bachelor of Arts in Management Information Systems (MIS) from Chatham University in Pittsburgh, PA, an Associate Science degree in Business Management, an Associate Science degree in Computer and Information Science, and a Certificate in Web Authoring. Angela is an avid creative person, jewelry making, photography, designing clothes, films, filmmaking, animation and everything computer related are her reasons for life. Angela Da Costa currently owns her own jewelry business which she also develops the web site for, www.waajba.com . Angela Da Costa is lifelong teacher of many but a current teacher to the great students at Year Up. Angela’s long term professional goals are to watcher her student’s blossom into great professionals with IT related careers, do some film shorts for fun, continue to build web sites, and continue to build her jewelry business. Ms. Da Costa’s personal aspirations are to travel more to various parts of the world, continue building her knowledge, build a solid financial portfolio and build some personal happiness in a solid and healthy relationship.

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Hamid Elaissami
Director of Apprenticeships
Hamid is the Director of Operations and Apprenticeships and came to the US by way of Morocco. He learned at a very early age that the only thing that really matters in life is knowledge, precisely knowledge through education. Prior to Year up, Hamid was involved in economic development through teaching youth entreperenership and providing small business technical assistance. His corporate experience includes retail management and financial planning with Morgan Stanley. Hamid earned a Bachelor of Science in economic development and a Master of Science in finance from the George Washington University in Washington DC and has lived there since 1997.

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Theodore Frazier
IT Instructor

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Vic Hall
Manager, Career and Alumni Services
Vic joins the Year Up team with 10 years of combined experience in
education and nonprofit leadership. Arriving in the area in the summer
of 2000, Vic took his passion for working with young people and his love
for Washington, D.C. to the National Young Leaders Conference, where he
worked as a faculty advisor, operations team member and associate
director of programs. From there he moved on to work with their sister
organization, the National Youth Leadership Forum, where he served as
Program Director for the medical conference. In those roles, Vic
managed to positively affect the lives of over five thousand young
people from across the United States. Vic attended Wittenberg
University where he graduated with a B.A. in American Studies. Outside
of Year Up, Vic spends his time reading, working out and following the
exploits of his hometown teams, the North Carolina Tar Heels & the
Philadelphia Eagles.

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Bridgette F. Gray
Director of Operations
Bridgette joined the Year Up team as Director of Operations in the DC office in the fall of 2007. Prior to joining Year Up, Bridgette had an extensive background in National Service, working with such organizations as the Corporation for National & Community Service, Earth Conservation Corps and Hands On Network/Points of Light Foundation. Bridgette has served as a VISTA Project Director for the state of Tennessee; a Senior Corps Project Director; and an Independent Consultant in the areas of National Service, Education, Diversity and Leadership Development. Over the years Bridgette has developed a strong passion for working with older youth, aiding them towards reaching their highest potential. Bridgette completed her undergraduate work in Human Services Management at the University of Tennessee at Chattanooga and will pursue her MBA in the fall of 2008.

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Anne Koprince
Admissions and Enrollment Specialist
Anne joined the Year Up team as an Admissions and Enrollment Specialist in the DC office in June, 2007 after serving in a similar capacity for both non-profit and corporate organizations. She spent several years as a consultant, working primarily with non-profits and higher education institutions, and served in finance, fundraising, and strategy roles on political campaigns. Anne grew up in a family of educators and brings her love for and knowledge of the education field along with her passion for justice and strong strategic and organizational experience to Year Up. She did her undergraduate work in history at Mary Washington College and is continuing her education in secondary education at the University of Maryland.

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BEN Marcus
VISTA, Special Projects Manager
Ben comes to Year Up as the VISTA for Special Projects with a wide variety of experience in issues ranging from national service to presidential campaigns. As a staff member and volunteer for a variety of political campaigns Ben has built support among student and young people, organized rallies and campaign stops and led petitioning efforts. He has also been involved in the student movement in Florida for quality higher education opportunities and as the representative for Florida community college students successfully led efforts to keep tuition increases to record lows. Additionally, Ben served as a City Year Corps Member and has been an active voice in support of national service helping AmeriCorps alumni speak about the important and impactful role service plays in the United States. He currently attends the University of Maryland pursuing a BA in Sociology and plans to move on to law school upon graduation.

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Roxanna Garcia Marcus
Development Manager
Roxanna joined the Year Up team in July 2008 as the Development Manager.  A Florida native, Roxanna first came to the DC area when she served as an AmeriCorps member with City Year.  A first-generation American, Roxanna said she was drawn to the opportunity to give back to her community and country in a meaningful and lasting way.  After graduating with a BA in Public Relations from the University of Florida, Roxanna served as the Development Director for Big Brothers Big Sisters of Mid-Florida.  There she worked on all aspects of the agency’s fundraising and strengthened the organization’s brand.  At Year Up, she works with other members of the development team to support the site through grant writing, individual solicitations and other fundraising opportunities.

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Cashielle Nelson
Student Relations Coordinator
Cashielle Nelson was born and raised in New Orleans, LA, but has lived in Virginia most of her life. Cashielle initially joined Year Up as a temp in Admissions. While working at Year Up, Cashielle became a believer in Year Up’s mission to help young adults succeed while impressing the staff with her organization and attention to detail, and seized the opportunity to join the Year Up family. Cashielle brings a wide range of professional experience to Year Up from her positions in the administrative, human resources, and recruiting fields. Having worked for 15+ years for a range of industries, including education, government, and government contracts, Cashielle has a strong understanding of what Year Up students need to be successful and brings that knowledge to the Admissions Team. Cashielle has a degree in Paralegal Studies with a minor in Information Technology from Northern Virginia Community College.

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Ronda Thompson
Director of Program & Student Services
Ronda Harris Thompson is responsible for developing strategic enrollment partnerships for Year Up DC. Prior to joining Year Up, Ronda worked for City Year in Washington, DC, where she recruited the first two City Year DC corps and eventually oversaw the site's training, corps member support and service initiatives. Prior to City Year, she worked in the Public Affairs Office at DC Hoursing Authority, where she helped change the image of the agency and was a key broker in the agency's job apprenticeship program for one of DC's most notorious public housing scandals. Prior to DCHA, she worked as a Public Affairs Specialist for the U.S. Agency for International Development where one of her primary responsibilities was recruiting employees to become involved in the agency's Speaker's Bureau. Ronda, a DC native, graduated from Bowie State University, a historically black university, in 1997 with a Bachelors Degree in Psychology and is pursuing an MSA in Organizational Management at Trinity Washington University.

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Cherie Smith
Volunteer and Special Events Coordinator
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Cherie comes to Year Up with extensive nonprofit program experience. After graduating with a BA in Sociology from Millersville University, she joined City Year DC to pursue her love for giving back.  After four and a half years, she accepted a Program Director position at New Community for Children After School Program. While there, she oversaw the Teen program for middle and high school students, where she planned and implemented after school activities.  At Year Up, Cherie is responsible for maintaining relationships gained through partners, mentors, and guests as well as planning special events.

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Camilla J Wells
Business Writing Instructor

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Michael Williams
Recruitment  & Outreach Coordinator

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David Winder
Instructor Pro Skills, Personal Finance and Customer Service
With over 10 years in finance and a special talent for teaching, David is a natural fit with the Year Up team. His classroom experience includes teaching for a summer at a middle school in his hometown of Oakland, CA, and working as a student teacher of (subject) at Hampton University. In addition, he taught a training course for prospective co-op housing residents, for which he also created the accompanying course materials. David’s strong business background includes his work with non-profit agencies, investment firms and, most recently, his own property acquisition and management company. David earned his BA in Economics from Hampton University and an MBA from The American University. He is also an audiophile and avid record collector who loves sports and hates tomatoes.

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