DANBURY AND NORWALK, Conn. June 25, 2025 — Nuvance Health, part of Northwell Health, has announced the arrival of a substantial $5.1 million donation from Dalio Education to support its newest workforce development initiative, the Academy for Career Readiness. This innovative initiative, spearheaded by Nuvance Health and designed in collaboration with Dalio Education, will empower young people experiencing disconnection in Norwalk and Danbury, Connecticut, with the skills and opportunities needed for successful careers in healthcare.
The Academy for Career Readiness is the latest in a series of Nuvance Health initiatives aimed at fostering economic self-sufficiency and career development among local youth. It is a part of the larger workforce development pillar strategy geared at helping a wide range of local community members seeking a future in healthcare. The Academy for Career Readiness includes five pillars of targeted workforce planning for the community at large. Those pillars include disengaged youth, high school students, young adults with disabilities, college pathways and adults with barriers to entry.
The donation also comes at a critical time as Connecticut faces a shortage of healthcare workers, threatening the pipeline needed to care for the state’s growing aging population. Meanwhile, 119,000 of the state’s 14-to-26-year-olds, including 1,356 in Norwalk and 1,619 in Danbury, are at-risk or disconnected from education and employment systems that can help them achieve economic self-sufficiency.
“We are grateful to Nuvance Health for their partnership on this issue of preparing young people experiencing disconnection with the skills and training they need to enter the workforce in Connecticut,” said Barbara Dalio, Founder and CEO of Dalio Education. “These young people have dreams, aspirations and tremendous potential but lack opportunities and face barriers many of us cannot imagine. What they need are opportunities, and everyone in Connecticut should applaud Nuvance Health for their commitment to providing the programming and mentoring to support young people’s career paths and self-sufficiency.”
These statistics, uncovered in Dalio Education’s commissioned research report, Connecticut’s Unspoken Crisis, were the impetus for the 2023 “119K Crisis” campaign, which spotlighted the 1 in 5 young people in Connecticut who are disconnected or off track. As part of its response to these findings, Dalio Education’s new partnership with Nuvance Health will create pathways to careers in healthcare for a population of young people whom most workforce readiness programs are not designed to support, providing the wraparound services, hard and soft skills development, and experiential opportunities that will prepare participants to succeed in gainful employment. The design of this targeted workforce training program will create a model for how public, private, and philanthropic sectors can work together to deliver real, measurable change for a population of young people who have been chronically underserved.
"We are profoundly grateful to Dalio Education for their generous donation, which will significantly advance our Academy for Career Readiness initiative,” said Katie Cullinan, Nuvance Health’s Chief Human Resources Officer.
Launching initially at Norwalk Hospital and then expanding to Danbury Hospital in subsequent years, the Academy for Career Readiness aims to reconnect and employ up to 225 young people ages 18 to 26 experiencing disconnection in the greater Norwalk area during its initial years. Through an intensive, immersive program lasting 18 months or more, participants will acquire the knowledge and skills that will prepare them to succeed in high-demand roles at Nuvance Health facilities.
Nuvance Health is partnering with local community-based organizations to recruit and enroll youth into the Academy, and once accepted, participants receive ongoing case management support from Peer Navigators at Nuvance Health as they complete workforce readiness classes and on-the-job training and ultimately secure full-time employment at Nuvance Health. Throughout their journey, young people benefit from wraparound services to address barriers in the areas of transportation, childcare, food insecurity, housing, and mental health.
Upon completing the Academy, graduates have access to robust career development resources including a dedicated career counselor, career ladders, internal mobility support, mentorship, ESL/GED classes, continuing education, career fairs, scholarships, and loan forgiveness or tuition reimbursement.
“This remarkable support underscores our shared commitment to empowering underemployed youth in Norwalk and Danbury and comes at a pivotal moment as we address the critical shortage of healthcare workers in our state,” said Cullinan. “Nuvance Health is proud to pioneer innovative workforce development programs that not only enhance career opportunities for these young individuals but also ensure a robust and sustainable healthcare workforce for the future. Together, we are making a lasting impact on our communities and setting a new standard for career development in healthcare.”
Support the Academy for Career Readiness at Nuvance Health and help transform the future for thousands of young individuals. To contribute or partner with us, visit nuvancehealth.org or contact Vilma Cuevas at vilma.cuevas@nuvancehealth.org or (860) 929-1797. Together, we can make a lasting impact on our community.
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CONTACTS
Nuvance Health
Griffin Cooper, Public & Community Affairs Associate
O: (860) 364-4507 | M: (475) 296-5111 | griffin.cooper@nuvancehealth.org
Dalio Education
Rosa Ortiz, Chief of Staff
operations@dalioeducation.org
About Northwell Health
Northwell Health is New York State’s largest health care provider and private employer, with 28 hospitals, more than 1,000 outpatient facilities, 22,000 nurses and over 20,000 physicians. We care for over three million people annually in the New York metro area, including Long Island, the Hudson Valley, western Connecticut and beyond, thanks to philanthropic support from our communities. Our over 100,000 employees — including members of Northwell Health Physician Partners and Nuvance Health Medical Practices — are working to change health care for the better. We’re making breakthroughs in medicine at the Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research. We’re training the next generation of medical professionals at the visionary Donald and Barbara Zucker School of Medicine at Hofstra/Northwell and the Hofstra Northwell School of Nursing and Physician Assistant Studies. For information on our more than 100 medical specialties, visit Northwell.edu and follow us @NorthwellHealth on Facebook, X, Instagram and LinkedIn.