Upstream USA reviews

This is the most toxic, fake place I have ever worked at. There is a serious lack of psychological safety. A culture that centers on trusting only a select few (mostly the white leaders), and promotes tattle-tale behaviors. Tiny mistakes or even different working styles are often written up without the employee's knowledge until it is too late or overblown, when it could have been easily addressed earlier on. Processes constantly change and new hires are not onboarded well, but when someone "messes up" it gets completely blown up and none of the leaders are willing to take an ounce of accountability. The way that VPs deliver "feedback" is appalling and makes you feel like you need to watch everything you say - it is exhausting. The problem is that these leaders do not even consider that they could be doing something wrong, inequitable, or be promoting an environment that is literally making people physically ill from anxiety. Leadership is extremely patronizing at BEST. They simply do not trust many of the individual contributors, leading to mircro management and punitive management styles - it's as if no one has ever managed human beings before.

Upstream USA is the two-kids-in-a-trenchcoat version of a non-profit. It feels like it’s run by children who cosplay as professionals, which is made worse by the fact that so many of the directors are workplace bullies. Some observations about working at Upstream: •Completely focused on optics…the mission is an afterthought •Abysmal workplace for marginalized staff •Reckless use of donor funds (lavish full-staff retreats, swag, etc.) •Objectionable disregard for metrics & data •Lack of expertise across leadership, resulting in weak programs •Indifferent to the needs/concerns of individual contributors •Nebulous goals/directives that lead to constant confusion/blame •Abrasive directors that lie to/about and disparage their colleagues