Jews of Color, UpStart launch young professionals career program
The companies who took on the cohorts include Upstart, Keshet, Dimensions Educational Consulting, Detroit Jews for Justice and Advot.
By JERUSALEM POST STAFFCalifornia's Golden Gate Bridge, near San Francisco(photo credit: RICH NIEWIROSKI JR./WIKIMEDIA COMMONS)
On Indigenous People's Day, the Jews of Color (JOC) Career Development Program announced that it has chosen the first wave of cohorts for its undergrad and postgraduate project which places 18 to 25 year olds in part-time paid positions at Jewish ventures and institutions across the United States.The six-week program, part of a partnership between the Jews of Color Initiative (JoCI) and UpStart, is tailored toward helping graduates develop their skills as entrepreneurs while working towards system-level change in the Jewish community at large. UpStart is a company which partners with Jewish leaders to host these types of programs.Program organizers also hope that the initiative will help groom future JoCI leaders; increase access to employment for the participants as well as employees for the company; and jump start growth within the Jewish innovation sector in the US."Leadership of Jewish community organizations today simply does not reflect the diversity of the Jewish community itself," said Angel Alvarez-Mapp, JoCI's director of program and operations. "To change this, we need to support people and nurture their professional growth at the earliest stages of their careers. We are excited to work with UpStart to pursue this vision."The participants are encouraged within the program to develop their skills while embracing their multiracial and multi-ethnic identities - all participants identified as Jews of Color. The program includes 10-hour work weeks, where the participants will complete projects based on their field of interest, skills and future aspirations; their placement within the sector is designed to match those interests.There will also be educational and discussion workshops to bring the participants together to learn "about entrepreneurship, the Jewish innovation ecosystem and personal growth as a Jew of Color, leveraging Jewish wisdom to enhance their educational experiences."The companies who took on the cohorts include Upstart, Keshet, Dimensions Educational Consulting, Detroit Jews for Justice and Advot. Participant bios and company information can be found on UpStart's website."Our vision of Jewish communities as thriving hubs of innovation relies on bold leadership on a systemic level – and we see that leadership falling short of empowering the full diversity of our communities," said UpStart's Design Strategist Danielle Natelson. "We have the responsibility to ensure greater and more equitable representation, and we’re honored to collaborate with the Jews of Color Initiative to take swift action and commit to this work."
