WHO WE ARE

As Upward’s People & Culture Manager, Rosana’s top priority is making sure everyone has a great experience at our restaurants, from guests to staff and everyone in-between. A native of Maracaibo, Venezuela, Rosana started in HR and payroll and quickly realized she had a passion for helping business owners and management have healthy and productive relationships with employees, and more importantly, for employees to feel the same way about management. Just make sure you don’t challenge her to a game of racquetball, or a race, because Rosana is both a former All-American Athlete at Arizona State University, and also a car fanatic, with a lead foot to match.

Born in Bundaberg in Queensland, Australia, Chris is way too polite to say this, but he’s kind of a big deal. Previously overseeing high-profile hospitality projects ranging from the Trafalgar Hotel in London to the famed Union Square Hospitality Group in NYC, he even worked on a new museum for some guy named George Lucas. A fierce believer in holistic design, adaptive reuse, thoughtful in-fill and quirky, one-off design, Chris is also loves to cook, hates bananas, was once a fanatic drummer and is a glutton for golf punishment and cheesy romantic comedies.

The pride of Woodsville, New Hampshire, Tim’s task is simple: sourcing and hiring the best talent in the nation. A lover of everything outdoorsy (hiking, fishing, camping, skiing, kayaking, hunting, mountain biking), when he is indoors, he’s been known to whip up one hell of a quiche. In his spare time, Tim and his wife love to renovate and restore old houses.

This Arizona State University alumni is all about the numbers. Born in Trinidad and Tobago, Theron Raymond is responsible for reconciling and consolidating data, analyzing variances, and forecasting outcomes as the Financial Analyst. But life is much more than spreadsheets, and when he’s done crunching data, you can find Theron jammin’ out to Lupe Fiasco’s “The Show Goes On”.

Our little slice of sunshine from the Sunshine State, Danelle grew up in West Palm Beach, but has moved all around the nation to pursue her passion for marketing, from Boston to Chicago to San Diego and now Phoenix. Charged with growing Upward’s national profile as we carefully expand to hand-picked markets, Danelle is also committed to maintaining the quirky come-as-you-are vibe that made us unique in the first place. When she’s not whipping up Chicken Piccatta, Danelle can be found anywhere outdoors, hiking, boating, golfing and spending time with her fam.

Coming to Upward via Coral Springs, FL, Jim is Upward’s culinary expert/licensed minster, developing all-new recipes while constantly tweaking and improving our existing menus. A classic rock guy, Jim’s perfect day is sitting around the pool, watching a movie and smoking up some prime rib, and a good cigar. And we weren’t kidding about the minister’s license, Jim has personally married three happy couples.

Surfing over from her hometown of Santa Monica, CA, Nina oversees supply chain and procurement analysis, helping us to grow successfully and without sacrificing quality. A lover of math, quantitative analysis, the band Queen and rap/hip hop, nobody puts Nina in a corner, but put her in the kitchen and she’ll bake you up incredible desserts, such as Fruits of the Forest pie. Also a travel junkie, when Nina’s not exploring other cultures, she can be found crocheting or knitting handmade crafts for friends and family.

We like to say that Juliann is the face of Upward Projects, and not just because she’s the smiling superstar greeting everyone who stops by our office (aka The Lab). But because she’s crazy passionate about the hospitality biz, working all-day at Upward, only to spend her nights checking out fun new restaurants with her boyfriend. Also a passionate at-home cook, Julian loves to make Neapolitan pasta while grooving to Frank Ocean’s channel ORANGE, and dreaming of opening her own business one day.

Ever since he was a youngster growing up in Utah, Cory has had an affection for food. Starting with his first job tossing pizzas, which led him to culinary school, and now as Senior Manager of Procurement, Cory is constantly focused on maintaining quality and facilitating company growth. When he isn’t on the clock, you can either catch Cory on the golf course, or at home watching movies. But the next time you see Cory, ask to hear his Kermit the Frog impression, it will not disappoint!

Ground Control to Major Kayla. Meet our maestro of Communications (and Queen of the UPside), Kayla who’s always had a passion for helping people create a love for learning, dating back to her days as an elementary school teacher. But after going back to school herself to earn a Master’s in Learning Sciences from Arizona State University, while also working part-time as a server at Postino, she realized her skills were perfect for empowering the Upward family. Also a huge music fan, 90s R&B is her jam, so much so that she’s not embarrassed to admit that the Baja Men were her first concert. Google it, youngins!

A content creation hero hailing from Tempe, AZ, Sean serves as a lead for everything social media. As Social Media Coordinator, he’s responsible for capturing content, creating social strategies and telling stories across all of Upward Projects’ projects. Sean values his ability to bring communities together through his work, one of the main reasons he got into the profession. Making an impact on others is nothing new to Sean, one summer he worked in Hong Kong helping with a non-profit focused on refugee-aid!