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About Us
We are Jo and Camilla, mother and daughter duo, the founders of Ascend.
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Jo has been an entrepreneur for her entire life. After being scouted by IBM as a teenager (choosing to opt out of traditional higher education) she later ran an English Country House Hotel, co-authored and published two books, started, built and sold three widely diverse businesses.
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Camilla (growing up in a house where dinner conversations were often spent fleshing out business ideas) chose to skip college in pursuit of life experience. She nannied, was a personal assistant, worked at an interior design firm, became a massage therapist, and is now at home raising her son with a second child on the way.
While we celebrate formal higher education, we both believe that life experience, and educating yourself are as valuable as a college degree. Too often, we feel, extremely valuable skills go unmeasured in the hiring process because there is no 'evidence' to bring to the table.​
We wondered how clients or employers could know that you have massive expertise in photography, or are a master with spreadsheets, or you’re a really incredible tutor? There are so many life skills that are important in the hiring process but which aren't typically backed by a formal degree. That's where Ascend Professional Academy comes in.
We give you the opportunity to formalize and document years of experience and upload reference material, as well as answer multiple assessment questions to prove your expertise gaining a certification to hang on your wall and add to your resume.