Julie Wilen

Julie Wilen is the Executive Director of the Pritzker Foundation and Chief of Innovation, Community Safety for the Pritzker Pucker Family Foundation. Julie leads the PPFF’s strategic vision and direction of the Community Safety Initiatives within the Community Safety and Wellness portfolio. 

Throughout her career, Julie has been dedicated to systems change through education reform, workforce development, social service implementation, and public policy advocacy. Prior to leading the Foundations, Julie was Director of Strategic Planning for UIC’s Center for Urban Education Leadership, where she led the strategic and fiscal growth of the Center. 

Julie started her work in philanthropy at the Circle of Service Foundation, where she was the Education Program Officer. Prior to this role, Julie was a senior policy analyst in the area of early childhood education at the Ounce of Prevention Fund. Julie served as an Assistant Commissioner in the Mayor’s Office of Workforce Development, where she oversaw the City’s welfare-to-work programs, and started her career as an antitrust and general litigation attorney at Bell, Boyd & Lloyd before joining the City as an Assistant Corporation Counsel under former Mayor Daley. 

Julie served on Mayor Johnson’s Transition Committee for Public Safety, Governor Pritzker’s Restorative Justice and Safe Communities Transition Committee, and the Advisory Council for the Mayor’s Office of Public Safety. Julie currently serves on the boards of Friends of the Children – Chicago, Community Leadership Fellows, and Dare2tri, where she also serves as a guide for para-athletes.  

Julie holds a bachelor’s degree in Communication Studies and Political Science from Northwestern University and a Juris Doctor from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.