Our Team
PAUL DOUGLAS
Co-Founder and CEO
PRAVEEN KEDAR
Co-Founder and CEO
BRANDON BATES
Vice President, Technology & Partnerships
SAYALI KEDAR
Head of Development
Eric Barron
Chief Strategic Officer
KASSIA BUKOSKY
Community Outreach Manager
SUMEDH SIRSAT
Community Development Manager
Community Leaders & Advisors
TUNDE OMONIJO
Finance Director
JANINE BRYANT
HR Services
RAMDAS BALWAD
Marketing and Business Outreach Manager
LINC KROGER
Advisor
YOM DOUGLAS
Advisor
“Our work at CareerEquity is part of the greater vision to place 10,000 diverse STEM candidates at top companies within the next five years. We believe this effort will help empower and bridge the incredible wealth gap in communities around the country.”
– Paul and Yom Douglas, Praveen Kedar, Co-Creators of CareerEquity
WHY CLIENTS CHOOSE CAREEREQUITY
This tech platform is a natural extension of The JPI Group’s diversity recruiting expertise. As a black and women-owned company with more than 20 years in the recruiting space, we leverage our vast recruiting knowledge so the platform remains up-to-date and fluid based on the emerging needs of the market place.
We’re proud to provide our clients ….
- Established relationships with top recruiting, diversity and community stakeholders
- Experienced recruiting, data and tech team for reliable components
- Concrete cyber security
- Diversity Recruiting Expertise with a focus on creating a robust candidate pipeline
OUR BELIEF SYSTEM
- We believe a 360 approach is needed to address the widening skills gap in communities across the country.
- We believe that leveraging data, tracking and strong workforce creation programs in a unified manner on one platform will help solve the skills gap problem.
- We believe candidates want to upskill and simply need more guidance and support in landing their dream job.
- We believe in operating within our purpose-driven values.
OUR PURPOSE-DRIVEN VALUES
- Innovators: We are constantly embracing new ideas and thriving environments that push innovative boundaries while challenging the status quo
- Community-Focused Collaboration: We are working to improve individual lives and we recognize the importance of building a network within diverse communities in order to achieve the greatest level of impact
- Intentional: We are deliberate in each step we take and believe that intentional decisions focused on our mission coupled with a strong pulse on this fluid job market will provide the greatest results
- Inclusive: We are a diverse group of founders committed to providing a dynamic and inclusive environment that’s designed to empower people of all backgrounds to soar
Our Story: The Founders of CareerEquity
Paul and Iyomekha “Yom” Douglas, first-generation Americans from Jamaica and Nigeria, founded The JPI Group in 2015 after over a decade leading recruiting and workforce consulting firms. Recognizing a gap in collaboration between job seekers, employers, and support services, they teamed up with IT veteran Praveen Kedar to create CareerEquity, a tech platform aimed at bridging that divide.
As children raised by single mothers in underserved communities, Paul and Yom understood the transformative power of employment. They were driven to provide strategic job growth, especially in STEM fields, for people from similar backgrounds. Since its inception, The JPI Group has successfully placed hundreds of diverse candidates into STEM roles across the U.S.
Praveen Kedar, co-creator of CareerEquity and an accomplished IT entrepreneur, brings decades of experience building secure, enterprise-level technology systems. His passion for business and technology drives his work in developing platforms that create both economic and social impact.
CareerEquity is a natural extension of Paul, Yom, and Praveen’s collective expertise, providing a powerful platform to enhance collaboration and empower underrepresented communities.
CERTIFICATIONS
Federal Certifications
- National Women’s Business Enterprise | WBE
- Minority Business Enterprise | MBE
- Woman Owned Business
- Small Disadvantaged Business | SDB
- Women Owned Small business | WOSB
- African American Business Enterprise | AABE
- Economically Disadvantaged Women Owned Small Business | EDWOSB
- Department of Transportation Disadvantaged Business Enterprise | DBE
State and City Certifications
- AZ | Arizona department of Transportation | DBE
- CO | Colorado Department of Transportation | DBE
- IL | City of Chicago | DBE
- IL | Chicago Transit Authority | SBE
- NY & NJ | The Port Authority of NY & NJ | MWBE
- NY | New York City Department of Small Business | MBE
- PA | Pennsylvania Department of Transportation | DBE
- WA | Washington State Office of Minority & Women’s Business Enterprises | DBE
- VA | Department of Small Business and Supplier Diversity | DBE