Michelle Sims is the CEO of Year Up Professional Resources (YUPRO), the nation’s leading Opportunity Talent Placement Firm connecting forward-thinking companies with diverse talent to drive long-term business success. A Public Benefit Corporation and wholly owned subsidiary of Year Up, Inc., a leading non-profit workforce development organization, both organizations share a social mission to close the Opportunity Divide and to support talent by helping them to secure jobs with fair and equitable market wages and professional growth paths. Since assuming the role of CEO in March 2020, alongside the onset of the pandemic, Michelle has aligned YUPRO’s position in the marketplace to respond to the heightened demand for corporate DEI hiring strategies. Under Michelle’s leadership, YUPRO has received two industry awards: the American Staffing Association Elevate Award for Best Work-Based Learning Program and the ClearlyRated Best in Staffing Client Satisfaction Award. In May 2021, Michelle was named a 2021 Top 50 DE&I Influencer by Staffing Industry Analysts.

 

Prior to joining YUPRO, Michelle served as Regional Vice President at HSS, the largest, national hospitality staffing firm, where she supported 120 hotel client partners and led expansion markets to success resulting in a 40% year over year growth rate. In addition, Michelle’s previous experience includes roles as Human Resources Director, Training & Development Director, Operations Director, and Marketing Director in various industries, including hospitality, retail, manufacturing, educational services, oil & gas, and telecommunications. Alongside her professional career, Michelle taught and mentored racially diverse young adults for 17 years at Houston Community College, School of Business Administration where she experienced firsthand the impact that both an individual and a socially responsible organization have in shaping children, families, and a community toward economic stability.

 

Michelle is also a council member on the Women in Leadership Council for the American Staffing Association and taskforce member of the THRIVE Women in Leadership Conference. Michelle holds a BBA in Marketing from Texas A&M University and her MBA from Houston Baptist University, where she returned in 2010 to teach Human Resources for the Executive MBA program.