One word to describe yourself: Tenacious
Alma Mater: DePaul University
Fast fact about yourself: I used to dance in Tierra Colombiana Folkloric Dance Company from the age of 16 until 26.
What’s your best experience on transit and what made it memorable? One of my best experiences on transit is riding the CTA’s Holiday Train with my kids and seeing their eyes light up as Santa came to talk to them.
JuanPablo Prieto currently serves as the director of diversity programs at CTA. He began his career at the authority in 2014 as a diversity programs specialist and was promoted to his department's data analyst within six months thanks to his proactive approach for learning the disadvantaged business enterprise (DBE) and labor compliance programs. He was then promoted to the manager of compliance in 2017 and took charge of the department the following year.
Throughout his tenure, he and the CTA received several awards and recognitions based on his leadership in creating one of the nation’s leading DBE and workforce development programs. For instance, he improved the CTA’s programming by establishing several initiatives to assist small businesses, including the CTA’s Small Business Educational Series (SBES) and Building Small Business (BSB).
SBES is a nine-week cohort program where small business owners learn from some of CTA’s prime contractors how to do business with the CTA. Over 100 firms have graduated since the launch of the pilot in 2017. BSB is CTA’s financial capacity and technical assistance program that connects small businesses with capital sourcing, back-office support and a procurement navigator. Since the launch of the pilot in 2019, over 35 firms have accepted over $18 million in capital.
He also led the development of opportunities for low-income workers, trade labor apprentices and residents of economically disadvantaged areas by establishing goals that require a specific percentage of contract hours be performed by individuals that meet one or more of the goals. He has also executed contracts with several workforce agencies to prepare candidates and create a pipeline available when contractors have hiring needs. All of these efforts have led to over $800 million being awarded to DBEs and over $50 million in wages for residents of economically disadvantaged areas since 2018.
In recognition of his contributions to improving the CTA’s DBE program, Prieto has won several awards, including Negocios Now 40 Under 40 in 2018; Hispanic American Construction Industry Association (HACIA) Diversity Award in 2018; Construction Industry Conference Vanguard Award in 2023; and B2GNow Diversity Award in 2024. Under his leadership, the CTA was awarded the Federation of Women Contractors Project of the Year for the 95th Street Terminal Improvement Project; the Diversity Program of the Year in 2019; and HACIA Project of the Year in 2025.
Prieto has also spoken as a subject matter expert on various panels and presented at numerous conferences, including the American Public Transportation Association, Congressional Hispanic Caucus Roundtable on Infrastructure Implementation, Conference of Minority Transportation Officials, B2GNow Drive and the American Contract Compliance Association National Training Institute.
Additionally, Prieto completed several leadership development programs, including the CTA Leadership Development Program in 2018, the Chicago Latino Caucus Foundation Leadership Academy in 2020, the Metropolitan Leadership Institute: Next Generation in 2023 and the University of Chicago’s Civic Leadership Academy in 2024.
Outside of his role with the CTA, Prieto is dedicated to using his skills and talents to support his community. He currently serves on the boards of La Casa Norte, Spanish Coalition for Housing and the Latino Worker Safety Center. He also serves on the 30th Ward Community Zoning Committee.
Is there a specific experience that led you to where you are today?
My inspiration for public service comes from my father. He served as an administrator at the City Colleges of Chicago, had a weekly opinion column in La Raza and was very involved in Chicago politics. While I was growing up, I joined him at work on multiple occasions and watched how he used every tool in his toolbelt to improve students’ lives. Finding a career where I could improve people’s lives was very important to me, and transit has given me that opportunity.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
Serving as a resource for small business owners and career seekers to connect them with opportunities to work on CTA projects.
What’s the most challenging part of your job?
The most challenging part of my job is continuing to find resources and create programming to be responsive to the communities we serve.
What is the accomplishment you’re most proud of and why?
One of my proudest accomplishments is having built and grown a team of dedicated and passionate professionals that work every day to create opportunities for historically excluded communities.
What is your best advice/tip/best practice you can share from your area of expertise?
A best practice that I have written on the board in my office is, “If this isn’t as good as it gets, what does better look like?” Instead of looking at new ideas or suggestions as something being wrong or broken, view it from the perspective that what you are doing can be better.
About the Author
Megan Perrero
Editor in Chief
Megan Perrero is a national award-winning B2B journalist and lover of all things transit. Currently, she is the Editor in Chief of Mass Transit magazine, where she develops and leads a multi-channel editorial strategy while reporting on the North American public transit industry.
Prior to her position with Mass Transit, Perrero was the senior communications and external relations specialist for the Shared-Use Mobility Center, where she was responsible for helping develop internal/external communications, plan the National Shared Mobility Summit and manage brand strategy and marketing campaigns.
Perrero serves as the board secretary for Latinos In Transit and is a member of the American Public Transportation Association Marketing and Communications Committee. She holds a bachelor’s degree in multimedia journalism with a concentration in magazine writing and a minor in public relations from Columbia College Chicago.