Karen Pritzker
Karen L. Pritzker | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1958 Oberlin, Ohio, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Investor, documentary film producer, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1980s–present |
| Known for | Co-founder of LaunchCapital LLC; executive producer of The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, Paper Tigers, Resilience |
Karen L. Pritzker (born 1958) is an American investor, documentary film producer, and philanthropist. She belongs to the Pritzker family, being the granddaughter of A.N. Pritzker and the daughter of Robert Pritzker.
Early life and education
Pritzker was born in Oberlin, Ohio to Audrey (née Gilbert) and Robert Pritzker. She has two siblings: Jennifer N. Pritzker, a retired Lieutenant Colonel and founder of the Pritzker Military Library, and Linda Pritzker, who is an American lama practicing in the Tibetan Buddhism tradition. Her parents divorced in 1979. She holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from Northwestern University.
Career
Her career began as an editor at Working Mother prior to its acquisition in 1986, and she has also contributed to various publications such as Success, Seventeen, and Kirkus Reviews. Pritzker co-established LaunchCapital LLC, a venture capital firm investing in technology, consumer products, and healthcare sectors.
In 2012, together with James Redford, she launched KPJR Films, where she served as executive producer for documentaries including The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia, Paper Tigers, and Resilience: The Biology of Stress and The Science of Hope.
Along with her late spouse Michael Vlock and Elon Boms, she co-founded LaunchCapital in 2008, focusing on early-stage seed investments.
Filmography
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | The Big Picture: Rethinking Dyslexia | Executive Producer | Selected for Sundance Film Festival 2012; recipient of the 2013 Parent’s Choice Award |
| 2015 | Paper Tigers | Executive Producer | Featured at the Seattle International Film Festival in 2015 |
| 2016 | Resilience | Executive Producer | Screened during the 2016 Sundance Film Festival |
Philanthropy
Karen Pritzker serves as president and director of The Seedlings Foundation, which since its inception in 2002 has distributed millions in grants supporting areas such as medical research, social services, workforce retraining, affordable housing initiatives, and community-based ad-free news outlets. Together with her husband, she donated $20 million to Yale University School of Medicine, including a $3 million endowment for a professorship; contributed $5 million to Teach for America; and gave $1.5 million to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research in recognition of her father’s struggle with Parkinson’s disease. In 2007, she provided $1 million toward establishing a visitor center at the Treblinka concentration camp. Additionally, Pritzker funded the website Truth in Advertising (tina.org), which investigates deceptive marketing practices. She holds board positions at Grameen America, which offers microloans to low-income women, and Grameen PrimaCare, providing affordable healthcare services to immigrant women.
The My Hero Project
In 1995, Pritzker co-founded The My Hero Project alongside Rita Stern Milch and Jeanne Meyers. This organization aims to "highlight exemplary human qualities and inspire youth to realize their capacity to drive positive change."
Personal life
Pritzker was initially wed to Daniel Mark Schwartz, and together they had two daughters named Allison and Dana. Subsequently, she married Michael Vlock, with whom she had an additional two children. Vlock died in September 2017. She currently lives in Branford, Connecticut.