Meet the YUPRO Placement team
Michelle Sims
Michelle is a dynamic executive who has led staffing and human resource teams nationally. Prior to taking on the role of CEO in March, 2020, Michelle served on the YUPRO Placement Board of Directors and now is excited to bring together her passion for helping others and building collaborative teams to this socially driven mission of both YUPRO Placement and Year Up. Michelle’s early experience in meeting needs for the underserved started in operations of a nationally acclaimed after-school program for under-privileged and latchkey youth. Fast forward many years, and as her career progressed, Michelle also taught and mentored students for 17 years in the Houston Community College system. Michelle experienced firsthand the impact that both an individual has, and a socially responsible organization has in making a difference in shaping children, families, and a community toward economic stability.
Michelle shares, “Today, our commitment to place Opportunity Talent is far stronger than we ever imagined as we see and feel the daily impact as our talent experience layoffs, unemployment, social unrest, and mental stress. Our team has an unwavering desire to serve our talent, coach and support them, and place them throughout their career. Our mission to close the Opportunity Divide doesn’t seem enough, but instead to build on positive, social impact where our clients, workforce development partners and industry leaders come together for equality, where the underserved rise, and a new economic foundation emerges.
Katie Breault
Katie helps forward-thinking companies overcome the challenges they face in accessing Opportunity Talent as our Senior Vice President, Growth & Impact. With her extensive background in diversity hiring, advocacy, public policy, consulting, and organizational development, Katie is a recognized expert in developing creative solutions that meet business needs. Katie discovered Year Up through a volunteer opportunity to mentor a young adult who exemplified the qualities she was seeking in hiring entry-level talent: grit, professionalism, and an enthusiasm to learn and grow. Through this relationship, Katie was inspired to devote her career to connecting this exceptional pipeline of talent to employers seeking these same qualities. With her mentee at the forefront of her mind, Katie is committed to providing her clients with access to this skilled and determined, yet often overlooked, source of talent.
Katie shares, “The Opportunity Divide is a reality that shaped my own career trajectory as a young person. Having served our mission since 2013 as a mentor, employer, and now as a strategic advisor, I am excited to partner with other forward-thinking employers seeking to enhance their own diversity hiring strategies.
Margaret Walkup
Margaret serves YUPRO Placement’s mission by building and maintaining high-quality and collaborative relationships which meet clients’ diversity hiring needs as our Vice President of Program and Partnerships. She works to ensure YUPRO Placement is creative and nimble in expanding the reach of its placement services, while providing candidates and clients with consistently successful experiences throughout their engagement. Margaret possesses more than a decade of experience working to further pathways for Opportunity Talent and close the Opportunity Divide. She has served this mission through non-profit direct service, foundations, and other philanthropic entities. Her experience includes building cross-sector partnerships, program development and management, teaching, and coaching.
Margaret shares, “My work is grounded in a deep belief in the capabilities of young people and my desire to build partnerships that meet market needs and create workplaces that mirror the diversity of our communities.”
Paula Lazer
Paula comes to YUPRO Placement with over 25 years’ experience in Accounting and Human Resources and 3 years’ experience in the staffing industry.
Paula’s started working in her home country of Romania. Then upon becoming a U.S. Citizen, continued her career which quickly shed light on how different work opportunities are in each country. Paula is driven by her work at YUPRO Placement as she feels she can relate to how background and upbringing can affect ones’ opportunities in life. Paula wants to use her diverse background, experiences, and skills to support company growth and be part of a movement where talent find their voice as YUPRO Placement continues to advocate for diversity, equity and inclusive in the workplace.
Paula shares, “I know firsthand how difficult it was to find my first job here in the U.S. My commitment to help YUPRO Placement grow is driven by the deep desire to help Opportunity Talent find their place in the U.S. workforce like I found my own 25 years ago. These young adults are our future, and I am proud to be part of an organization that supports their growth.”
Kelsey Weaver
Kelsey is thrilled to serve as YUPRO Placement’s National Director of Client Delivery on our Growth & Impact team. Kelsey brings eight years’ experience in nonprofit leadership, business development, program development, volunteer management, and strategic planning. Kelsey worked previously with YUPRO Placement parent company, Year Up, Inc. thus brings a unique perspective in working directly with the National Opportunity Workforce and corporate partners who commit to closing the Opportunity Divide. She enjoys nurturing client relationships to determine their hiring needs and designing innovative solutions, such as our OnRamps@Work Apprenticeship Program, to fill their entry-level and middle-skilled roles, focusing on skills-based hiring to create equitable career pathways to enhance their teams.
Kelsey shares, “The Opportunity Divide is a challenge that both candidates and employers are negatively impacted by. Not only are Opportunity Talent lacking access to meaningful careers due to systematic barriers, but employers are missing out on the valuable perspectives & unique skillsets that Opportunity Talent bring to the table. I hope that I can support businesses in tapping into this untapped talent pool to invigorate their workplace & to create a more diverse, equitable, inspiring environment in which their business can thrive.”
Tirranny Nettles
Tirranny’s commitment and passion for creating avenues of equitable experiences are empowered as the YUPRO Placement National Director of Recruiting. She brings over 8 years’ staffing and recruiting experience. Her journey started in higher education where she served the Mississippi Delta, a region most known for its racial, cultural, and economic history. Her experience there, along with her time in healthcare staffing shed light on how great the Opportunity Divide is for BIPOC communities. This divide ignited Tirranny to use her voice and experiences to impact diversity in corporate settings.
Tirranny shares, “My commitment to placing our talent is driven by my firsthand exposure to resources that greatly impacted my life and generations to follow. Equipping Opportunity Talent with fair wages, economic mobility, and the ability to build wealth will empower them for years to come.”
Ainsley Castro
Ainsley drives for innovative hiring solutions to connect corporate partners with Opportunity Talent to bridge their gap of Belonging in their efforts towards diversity, equity, and inclusion as the Senior Director, Apprenticeship Operations. With more than 10 years’ experience in corporate finance, she leverages her ability to source opportunities to help move forward hiring needs to include Opportunity Talent. Ainsley’s upbringing allowed her to participate in several non-profit organizations including Bottom Line, Summer Search, and Citizen Schools. While interning at State Street as a Bottom Line participant, she was accompanied by a Year Up Alumni, where she learned more about the Opportunity Divide. In 2018, Ainsley joined Year Up at their Employer-Based site located at State Street in Boston. There she was able to manage new and existing partners that were responsible for hosting Year Up interns. Soon after, she took on the role of Employment Placement Manager, where she worked directly with student learners in coaching, mentoring, and teaching professional development skills to prepare them for the workforce.
Ainsley shares, “I am passionate about serving our talent across the nation that may be disconnected from career paths due to lack of resources. Personally, participating in non-profits in my community, I realize the positive impact it has made on my career trajectory and what it can do for our Opportunity Talent. I am excited to partner with companies that are dedicated to driving solutions in their hiring practices and make an impact in our talents’ lives.”
Jana Holley
Jana comes to YUPRO Placement with 20 years of administrative and operational experience in non-profit organizations and education. Her diverse background has honed her strengths in leadership, people development, and strategic project management, where today she focuses on issues of social justice, with a passion to make right what is wrong in the world. This is a time in her career where making a difference converges with her passion, experience, and our socially driven mission.
Working for YUPRO Placement, Jana says, “fits my passions 100% as we seek to close the Opportunity Divide, a gap that shouldn’t exist in the first place. Providing talented young adults with sustainable career pathways changes the lives of individuals, families and ultimately communities. I’m excited to work with YUPRO Placement and be a small part of this important mission.”
Hannah Pace
Hannah works to serve our mission by developing long-term relationships and mutually beneficial partnerships with Industry and Community organizations as our Director, Workforce Partnerships. She supports the growth of the YUPRO Placement apprenticeship program to expand opportunities for alumni from Year Up and Community Partner organizations that serve overlooked talent. Hannah possesses more than a decade of experience working in HR, nonprofit management and developing strategic community partnerships.
Hannah shares, “I am excited to partner with community organizations doing impactful work across the country to close the Opportunity Divide. It is motivating to collaborate with forward thinking companies to achieve our social mission of connecting talent to great opportunities!”
Alyssa Sweet
Alyssa motivates, coaches, and supports our amazing talent each day as a Talent and Account Manager. Alyssa’s passion for placement and coaching began while interviewing for a job at a staffing company. They immediately saw a spark in her, so they hired her on the spot to learn recruiting, and Alyssa was hooked! Alyssa’s discernment skills and natural curiosity, along with her work ethic of ‘do what it takes’ fit well with YUPRO Placement’s mission, as Alyssa serves as a role model for her talent on assignment. They respond well to Alyssa’s motivational tips, and she works diligently to always provide encouragement as they apply those tips.
Alyssa shares, “Working toward a social mission not only continuously holds us accountable, but also allows us to do something very magical, to create a positive change in someone’s life.”
Jasmine Walthall-Drakes
Jasmine Walthall-Drakes began her career at, Year Up, Inc. as a receptionist supporting the Executive Team. Jasmine happily spent 8-years with Year Up, serving as an Internship Services Representative for interns and then a Program Manager. As an alumna of the Year Up Program (July 2013 graduate), Jasmine has also served on her local Year Up (Boston) alumni association board, and the National Alumni Association board. She found a passion for building relationship, facilitating and process improvement. She now supports our team as the Apprenticeship Services Manager in providing support to alumni as they transition to full-time placement. She is enthused about this step in her career, as well as, continuing to build her skills as a professional coach while fostering client relationships. Jasmine is committed to supporting our Opportunity Talent every day, as she identifies as Opportunity Talent herself.
Throughout her life journey, Jasmine will continue to lead with the mindset of the Wayne Gretzky quote, “You miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.”
Deidra Prather
Deidra serves YUPRO Placement’s mission by working directly with the National Opportunity Workforce to continue to empower and prepare them for the next steps in establishing their career. Utilizing her well‑rounded experience as a Year Up Alum herself and being a former staff member at Year Up, Deidra is excited to be in a position to support the YUPRO Placement Talent Community in navigating their journey to finding their best career fit. Deidra’s professional experience includes coaching and developing young adults at Year Up, managing and cultivating corporate accounts, and overseeing operations-and bookkeeping in nonprofit organizations and Small, Women and Minority-owned businesses.
Deidra shares, “It is such a reward to work in a community of people that truly believes in the impact of their role, to build a better workforce.”
Andre Brown
Andre is a graduate and pioneer of Year Up Philadelphia Class 1 where he served on the local leadership boards and was the President of the Philadelphia Alumni Association. After completing Year Up Andre spent several years at JPMC as a Project Manager before transitioning into Workforce Development. Andre is also the founder of his own nonprofit called Thorough Inc. which is focused on men’s empowerment geared to help individuals obtain the guidance to be successful in their personal lives. Joining YUPRO Placement was the perfect move for Andre as he shares the same passion as the company, which is to ensure that talent will not be overlooked and that everyone is awarded a fair chance to make an impact. Andre takes pride in helping individuals find opportunities to provide for themselves and their families, just as Year Up did for him.
Andre Shares, “Dreams start with you. How can I help you obtain that dream?”
Kevin Fischer
Kevin serves YUPRO Placement as a Client Delivery Manager, connecting organizations with our nationwide talent community of driven, skilled jobseekers with a talent first focus.
Kevin enjoys connecting with people, building relationships, and finding creative solutions to challenges. Having 10+ years of experience in client management, staffing, team leadership, and social networking, he is a believer in the power of diversity, inclusion, and collaboration to achieve excellence and innovation.
Alexis Agee
Alexis joined YUPRO Placement after completing her degree and working at YUPRO Placement between semesters as a recruiter intern. Once Alexis graduated college, she knew she wanted to help others reach their full potential and socially break down hiring barriers that she was able to positively affect during her YUPRO Placement internship experience. Now with a bachelor’s degree in Human Resources, Alexis has the opportunity to incorporate her skills during internship, her schooling and her own experiences as she worked full-time to support herself while in school. Alexis loves interacting with our Talent Community as she connects Year Up Alumni with job opportunities that open the door for them to reach their full potential.
Alexis joined YUPRO Placement to be a part of the mission, and also believes in the values we hold true each day. Diversity, equity, and inclusion are vital in the workplace, as YUPRO Placement brings DEI to the forefront each day, along with empathy and objectivity, which are required in a recruiting role and are very important to Alexis.
Alexis shares, “No goal is too big. My passion is making sure others can live out their own passions. Never comparing myself to others and trying to be a better version of myself every day is how I navigate through life. I help people by giving them the confidence needed to accomplish anything that comes their way!”
Natalie Odis-Herrera
Natalie is excited to serve as YUPRO Placement’s Sales & Marketing Specialist on the Growth & Impact team. As an analytical influencer with a proven track record of maximizing engagement across social channels, Natalie first began her journey with YUPRO Placement as a Contractor, delivering a perceptive strategy to drive employer awareness to the skills-gap that currently affects 66% of Americans without four-year degrees. In her role as Sales & Marketing Specialist, Natalie collaborates with all sectors of the organization to ensure alignment with YUPRO Placement’s social mission, as job placement with social impact is better business. Dedicated to her work and passion for helping others, Natalie looks forward to contributing to YUPRO Placement’s continued growth and social impact in the years to come.
Natalie shares, “I am proud to be a part of an organization who is challenging the status-quo by disrupting outdated hiring practices and exposing the silent barriers talent skilled through alternative routes (STARs) face each day. The time to truly diversify the workforce by allowing both soft and hard skill development through work-based learning programs is now, and I am profoundly grateful to have the opportunity to work alongside like-minded individuals.”