Continuing to expand its proven workforce development program, Year Up has appointed Grace Jackson as Executive Director of Year Up Greater Atlanta, effective July 9, 2018. With more than twenty years of senior leadership experience in the financial services industry, Ms. Jackson previously served as the Chief Operating and Strategy Officer for Raymond James Bank. She joined Year Up Greater Atlanta students and staff to celebrate the Class 18 Core and Class 3 Professional Training Corps graduation at the Georgia World Congress Center on July 26, 2018.

“Grace’s extensive expertise in collaborating with C-suite executives and in developing strategy and leading initiatives will allow us to continue growing Year Up Greater Atlanta through new corporate partnerships and skills training aligned with companies’ talent needs,” said Gerald Chertavian, Year Up Founder and CEO. “She is committed to closing the Opportunity Divide for young adults across Atlanta, and to scaling Year Up’s impact and reach across the metropolitan area to serve 400 young adults through the end of 2018.”

Year Up Greater Atlanta provides free job training to talented and motivated young adults, ages 18-24, without college degrees at campuses in Midtown and at Atlanta Technical College. Students gain in-demand technical and professional skills in the first six months, then participate in a six-month internship at a top local company. In June, the federally-sponsored Pathways for Advancing Careers and Education evaluation of Year Up showed a 53% increase in initial earnings for young adults randomly assigned to Year Up compared with similar young adults in a control group—the largest impact on earnings reported to date for a workforce program tested in a randomized controlled trial.

“Since 2009, Year Up Greater Atlanta interns and graduates have redefined what talent looks like—and where it comes from,” said Jackson. “As Executive Director, I’m excited to build on their success and help even more underserved young adults reach their full potential. I enjoyed celebrating the most recent class of graduates as they launch meaningful careers at companies like AT&T, Elavon, Kaiser Permanente, Cox Enterprises and the Coca-Cola Company.”

Prior to Raymond James Bank, Ms. Jackson served as the Credit Advisory Service Executive for a 130-plus organization within SunTrust Bank. She was responsible for managing a P&L, $8.1Billion in assets and establishing the strategy for delivery of Wealth Management Products and Services across the enterprise. Grace held executive leadership positions in Private Wealth at Wells Fargo prior to joining SunTrust. Ms. Jackson has a Bachelor of Science degree in Comprehensive Marketing from Illinois State University and a Masters of Business Administration degree in finance from the Katz Graduate School of Business from the University of Pittsburgh. She is an active participant in the Atlanta civic and charitable communities.