Jane Leu

2005 Finalist – Economic Category
Age: 36
Hometown: San Francisco, CA
Nominated by: Barbara Kazdan, Ashoka program director

Many immigrants and refugee women who flee their homelands and come to the U.S. become either unemployed or part of the working poor, despite the fact that in their home countries they often held university degrees and professional jobs. Jane Leu worked for a national refugee resettlement agency, traveling all over the country to meet newly arrived refugees and monitor their employment.

Everywhere she went, Leu met talented and skilled refugee women who often became depressed and struggled without hope, despite their enormous talent and experience, because they were unable to continue the professions and careers they loved.

Leu's solution was to create an innovative, non-profit organization called Upwardly Global (www.upwardlyglobal.org), which works to return these talented immigrants to their original career fields. Through Upwardly Global, more than 200 immigrants have been able to rebuild their careers and their lives in this country, and at least 70 major companies have started to adopt Upwardly Global's immigrant inclusive practices. This year, Leu hopes to open a branch office in New York City and engage more companies there to open their hiring practices to immigrants.

Upwardly Global represents Leu's life work and she plans to continue expanding her employment model for years to come.

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