Atlanta, GA (PRWEB) March 22, 2018
Year Up Greater Atlanta (“YUGA”), a nonprofit career development program for young adults ages 18-24, today announced that Mary Ulmer-Jones, Associate General Counsel at Bank of America, has been appointed to the organization’s Board of Directors. In this volunteer role, Ulmer-Jones will provide strategic leadership to help expand Year Up’s one-year program throughout the Atlanta metropolitan region.
An experienced employment law professional, Ms. Ulmer-Jones has served as a Senior Vice President and Associate General Counsel at Bank of America since 1991. She provides legal advice and litigation to Bank of America’s Human Resources Department, and is responsible for developing and delivering training and strategic initiatives related to employment issues at the bank.
“Mary is a prominent and longstanding member of the Greater Atlanta legal community,” said Kim Williams, Executive Director of YUGA. “We welcome her expertise and look forward to continuing our relationship with Bank of America, which, through our partnership with Atlanta Technical College, will help us reach our plans to grow by 25% in 2018.”
Currently, Year Up Greater Atlanta serves 330 students at two sites in Atlanta. At the primary site, located in Midtown, students learn in-demand technical and professional skills to prepare for a career in Information Technology or Business. The second program site is on the campus of Atlanta Technical College, where students are dually-enrolled in college and Year Up. In 2019, Year Up will expand its enrollment by 30% with a goal of enrolling 410 students.
Mrs. Ulmer-Jones commented, “I am thrilled to be joining the Board of Year Up Greater Atlanta. Year Up has reminded me that empowerment has no bounds and the Year Up students I have met each possess a unique quality. They recognize that, with the help of Year Up, they will become empowered individuals. And, once empowered, they will not only change their lives forever but they will change the lives of those around them, like me.”
Bank of America partners with Year Up by investing in the organization, providing internships for students and hiring Year Up graduates. Year Up Greater Atlanta is the recipient of the 2017 Neighborhood Builders Award, bestowed by Bank of America and the Bank of America Foundation. Additionally, Bank of America has committed a $200,000 grant to support growth and expansion in Atlanta.
Year Up Greater Atlanta has served the Greater Atlanta community for nearly a decade, with more than 1,700 students served to date and two graduation ceremonies each year in January and July. Ninety-two percent of alumni from the most recent graduation are employed or enrolled in college to further their educational goals, with an average starting salary is $35,000/year.
About Year Up
Year Up is an award-winning, national 501(c)3 organization that provides talented and motivated young adults ages 18-24 with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education. Through a one-year, intensive training program, Year Up utilizes a high support, high expectations model that combines marketable job skills, stipends, coursework eligible for college credit, and corporate internships at more than 250 top companies. Its holistic approach focuses on students' professional and personal development to enable young adults with a viable path to economic self-sufficiency and meaningful careers. Year Up has served more than 19,500 young adults since its founding in 2000. Year Up will serve more than 4,000 young adults in 2018 across 21 U.S. locations including Arizona, Baltimore, Bay Area, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Greater Atlanta, Greater Boston, Greater Philadelphia, Jacksonville, Los Angeles, National Capital Region, New York City, Providence, Puget Sound, South Florida and Wilmington. Year Up has been voted one of the “Best Non-Profits to Work For” by The NonProfit Times for eight consecutive years, and rated a 4-star charity by Charity Navigator for twelve consecutive years, placing them in the top 1% of tracked organizations.
To learn more, visit http://www.yearup.org, and follow us on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter: @YearUp