Nitzan Pelman founded and serves as CEO for Climb Hire, which prepares working adults for jobs that require a background in Salesforce. Previously, at LinkedIn Social Impact, Pelman explored innovative ways to expand social capital for people who do not have robust networks and come from disadvantaged communities. In 2015, Pelman founded ReUp Education and served as its founding CEO. ReUp partners with universities to re-enroll students who have dropped out of college. ReUp has successfully brought back nearly 4,000 students to college. Prior to ReUp, Pelman founded the New York region of Citizen Schools and served as its first Executive Director for six years. Citizen Schools is a hands-on learning program. During Pelman’s tenure, the program expanded by 3x and student outcomes improved dramatically. Earlier in her career, Pelman held leadership roles at Teach For America, KIPP Academy, and the New York City Department of Education.
My Truth
Having completed an Entrepreneur in Residence role at LinkedIn this past year, I now know that people are 8 times more likely to get jobs through referrals. Bootcamps and training programs have focused specifically on skilling up, not recognizing that social capital building is a key part of the equation. Eric Schmidt, the Shusterman Foundation, and Google.org have committed $2 million to help launch Climb Hire. Climb is a new workforce initiative focused exclusively on working with people who systematically face economic barriers, have taken some college credits, and are underemployed nevertheless.
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