Meet Travis Keene of Year Up Los Angeles

Today we’d like to introduce you to Travis Keene.

Travis, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
I started with Year Up as an Forest Foundation Fellow/Intern in our Boston (HQ) office. From there, I’ve worked in Development and Operations in our San Francisco, San Jose, and Los Angeles branches. My current role is External Relations Manager for Year Up Los Angeles.

Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
As Year Up has entered a new market in Los Angeles, our biggest initial challenge has been raising brand awareness. Our Marketing Team, Recruitment Manager and External Relations Manager have been focused on building our local brand within the communities that we serve. To date we’ve utilized targeted LA Metro advertisements and radio ad spots in addition to grassroots outreach and partnerships with local community organizations.

Year Up Los Angeles – what should we know? What do you guys do best? What sets you apart from the competition?
Year Up envisions a future in which every young adult will be able to reach their potential.

Our mission is to close the Opportunity Divide by providing urban young adults with the skills, experience, and support that will empower them to reach their potential through professional careers and higher education.

Year Up Los Angeles launched in Fall 2016 on the campus of West Los Angeles College. Year Up Los Angeles offers an intensive, one-year program for young adults, ages 18-24, combining professional coaching, hands-on skill development and internships at some of America’s top companies. As college students, our young adults have access to the library, tutoring resources, and other services offered by the college, in addition to the services offered by Year Up. As students work toward completing a degree at West Los Angeles College, Year Up Los Angeles provides them with professional development and work experience, preparing graduates to launch a meaningful career.

Our local internship partners include: Snap, Hulu, Sony, Bank of the West, and Kaiser Permanente.

What is “success” or “successful” for you?
As a company, we measure our success by the success of our graduates. Four months after each graduating cohort, we want to see at least 85% of our graduates employed or enrolled in higher education full time, earning a nationwide average wage of at least $16/hour.

We are happy to report our recent graduates across the nation are near 90% employment earning an average starting salary of nearly $20/hour. In California, our alumni boast an average starting wage of over $23/hour.

Contact Info:

• Address: 9000 Overload Ave
• Website: https://www.yearup.org/
• Phone: 213-505-1559
• Email: [email protected]
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/yearuplosangeles/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/YearUpLosAngeles/
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/yearupla

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