March 2, 2026
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CHICAGO– March 2, 2026 — The Pritzker Traubert Foundation today announced HealthCatalyst Chicago as the inaugural winner of the Chicago Talent Challenge, a $5 million investment to accelerate the training, placement and success of workers in critical healthcare roles.
Launched in 2025, the Chicago Talent Challenge is a competitive open call focused on funding bold ideas to help low-income workers access good jobs in the sectors that need them most. The Pritzker Traubert Foundation focuses on expanding economic opportunity in Chicago by investing in innovations to help residents adapt, adjust and thrive in a changing labor market.
The inaugural Chicago Talent Challenge centers on health care in recognition of the industry’s unique capacity to produce the creative and scalable solutions that our national workforce challenges demand.
HealthCatalyst Chicago is expected to train and place Chicagoans into 1,000 health care jobs over the next three years and up to 400 positions annually thereafter. The initiative is a transformational partnership led by City Colleges of Chicago in collaboration with Cook County Health, with additional employer partners supporting hiring and placement. The goal is to build a single, coordinated pathway for talent tied to real hiring demand.
Built on a successful relationship between City Colleges of Chicago and University of Chicago Medicine that helped prepare and place more than 200 City Colleges students in healthcare roles over two years, HealthCatalyst Chicago will scale proven training and hiring pathways to meet growing workforce demand across the city.
“Chicago’s future depends on investing in its people,” said Penny Pritzker, cofounder and trustee of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. “Helping more Chicagoans access on-ramps to economic mobility has been a passion and focus of mine for decades. We are proud to support this innovative project, which can create real opportunities for residents, help address employer pain points, and, importantly, show what’s possible when major institutions collaborate to solve the city’s workforce challenges.”
“The Chicago Talent Challenge sought bold ideas with the potential for real impact, recognizing both the urgent demand for talent and the need for greater access to good first jobs across our city,” stated Bryan Traubert, cofounder and trustee of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. “As a physician, I’ve seen firsthand how important these jobs are for care delivery and how entry-level roles can open the door to lasting careers that change a family’s trajectory. This is why we are so proud to support HealthCatalyst.”
Working together, HealthCatalyst Chicago partners will expand and align training, clinical placements and hiring for in-demand roles including medical assistants, patient care technicians, medical laboratory technicians and nurses.
The initiative will scale City Colleges’ training capacity, increase access to clinical rotations and coordinate hiring with major health care employers to ensure graduates secure strong first jobs.
HealthCatalyst Chicago will also launch a first-of-its-kind City Colleges training program at Provident Hospital of Cook County Health, along with an innovative pre-hire apprenticeship program designed to accelerate students’ work readiness and shorten the path from enrollment to employment.
“This initiative reflects the kind of cross sector leadership we need right now,” said Julie Morita, MD, President of the Joyce Foundation and former Commissioner of the Chicago Department of Public Health. “HealthCatalyst Chicago aligns real employer demand with trusted public institutions to create pathways that strengthen the region’s workforce, health system, and economy. That combination of scale, discipline, and public value is what makes this model worth supporting and paying attention to.”
HealthCatalyst Chicago is also designed to help area hospitals address chronic frontline staffing shortages while improving long-term financial stability by reducing reliance on costly staffing agencies.
“We are proud to harken back to Provident Hospital’s pioneering roots in medical education to solve a modern crisis,” said Cook County Health CEO Dr. Erik Mikaitis. “HealthCatalyst Chicago helps move us beyond temporary staffing fixes by creating a coordinated, demand-driven pipeline for talent. This initiative does more than just fill roles, it strengthens our entire public health system, supports our dedicated staff and ensures that Cook County residents have a direct, sustainable path into high-impact healthcare careers.”
Cook County Health aims to save approximately $1M annually through reduced use of temporary staffing agencies, savings that can be reinvested to sustain and grow the program. And as enrollment increases, City Colleges of Chicago will reinvest new tuition revenue to further expand training capacity.
“This award recognizes City Colleges’ role as Chicago’s go-to workforce partner, prepared to meet the talent needs of high‑demand industries such as healthcare,” said Juan Salgado, Chancellor, City Colleges of Chicago. “HealthCatalyst Chicago expands high‑quality training that moves students quickly into critical public health roles across our city. This project is made possible through the visionary support of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation, in particular, Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert, who are incredible leaders supporting creative and scalable solutions that will help more Chicagoans achieve their dreams.”
On March 3 at City Club of Chicago, Penny Pritzker and Bryan Traubert will discuss the inaugural Challenge and why they chose to focus on health care for the first Chicago Talent Challenge. They will be in conversation with leaders from HealthCatalyst Chicago.
The Chicago Talent Challenge was launched through an open call that attracted more than 50 applicant teams representing more than 200 organizations and partners across the city. Proposals were evaluated based on leadership strength, demonstrated commitment, projected impact and a clear path to long-term financial sustainability.
“What distinguished HealthCatalyst Chicago was its combination of ambition and practicality,” noted Cindy Moelis, President of the Pritzker Traubert Foundation. “The initiative is designed not only to place people into jobs quickly, but also to sustain and grow over time through strong partnerships, exactly what the Chicago Talent Challenge was created to support.”
While the inaugural call focused on health care, future Chicago Talent Challenges will source bold ideas with potential large-scale impact for other sectors.
“What makes the Chicago Talent Challenge so important is that it tackles two economic problems at once: persistent labor shortages in essential sectors and the practical realities of how to scale and sustain opportunities for overlooked workers,” said Maria Flynn, President and CEO of Jobs for the Future. “By aligning employers, educators, and public systems around real hiring demand, this innovative partnership from City Colleges and Pritzker Traubert Foundation can help move us beyond short-term training and toward a more sustainable workforce engine. That kind of scalable, innovative and demand-driven investment is exactly what the U.S. economy needs more of right now to help more workers succeed.”
The Chicago Talent Challenge reflects the Pritzker Traubert Foundation’s ongoing commitment to connecting Chicagoans to good jobs while strengthening the city’s economy. Central to this work is the belief that building the workforce Chicago needs requires investment in strong leaders and bold ideas that leverage public funding for greater impact. Since 2020, the Foundation and its affiliates have committed more than $30 million to scalable workforce solutions across Chicago, including major initiatives such as Skills for Chicagoland’s Future and P33. This work is informed by Penny Pritzker’s long time leadership on this issue and experience as U.S. Secretary of Commerce, where she launched the department’s first ever dedicated workforce development initiative.
The gift will be made to the City Colleges of Chicago Foundation, a 501(c)3 nonprofit, that raises charitable contributions to support community college students from all backgrounds in reaching their academic and career goals.
The Pritzker Traubert Foundation created the Chicago Talent Challenge to tackle two pressing needs: helping Chicagoans build stable careers and helping employers fill essential jobs. Through targeted investments and cross-sector partnerships, the Chicago Talent Challenge aims to strengthen career pathways, support employers, and build a more inclusive and resilient economy for the city.
Learn more at https://www.ptfound.org/chicago-talent-challenge.
Pritzker Traubert Foundation partners with visionary leaders to implement their bold plans to connect talent to jobs, build an inclusive and growing economy, and strengthen communities in Chicago. This effort is grounded in the fundamental belief that it’s only when all our neighbors and neighborhoods thrive can Chicago reach its full potential.
Learn more at https://www.ptfound.org/
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