Work for America Selects Cities for Inaugural Talent Accelerator Workshop to Improve Hiring Systems
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Sophie McGrath, Work for America, press@workforamerica.org
Date: Tuesday, April 21, 2026
BROOKLYN, NY — Work for America (WFA) today announced a new effort to help government HR and operations teams diagnose and improve persistent challenges within their hiring systems. Through its Talent Accelerator program’s inaugural Transforming City Hiring Processes cohort, WFA has selected a group of 12 cities to participate in an 8-week program designed to improve hiring workflows. Chosen from a competitive pool of applicants, the Spring 2026 cohort cities include:
City of Akron, OH
City of Albuquerque, NM
City of Allentown, PA
City of Green Bay, WI
City of Kansas City, MO
City of Knoxville, TN
City of New York, NY
City of Norfolk, VA
City of Pittsburgh, PA
City of Pompano Beach, FL
City of Savannah, GA
City of Stockton, CA
WFA’s Talent Accelerator program is a free, virtual program for city HR and operations teams. The workshop will help cities map their end-to-end processes, identify bottlenecks such as fragmented workflows, unclear responsibilities, and limited visibility into timelines, and develop practical, leadership-ready recommendations to improve efficiency and candidate experience. By the end of the workshop, each city will produce a comprehensive process map, surface key inefficiencies, and deliver a briefing to leadership outlining recommended changes.
The Spring 2026 cohort, which runs from April 21 through June 9, focuses specifically on operational improvements to hiring workflows. Participating cities will work collaboratively to surface common challenges such as fragmented processes, unclear responsibilities, and limited visibility into hiring timelines.
“Hiring is the operating system of local government. If it's broken, everything downstream breaks with it,” said Caitlin Lewis, Executive Director of Work for America. “Talent Accelerator is where cities rebuild that foundation, so that every service, every team, every resident feels the difference.”
WFA is delivering the program in partnership with Jobs for the Future (JFF), a national nonprofit organization focused on workforce transformation and economic advancement.
"JFF is thrilled to be working with WFA to launch the inaugural Talent Accelerator, which promises to provide meaningful community engagement alongside tangible tools to support cities in their journey toward worker-centered talent practices," said Laura Roberts, Senior Director of Jobs for the Future.
WFA and JFF will highlight early insights from this first Talent Accelerator workshop cohort at JFF Horizons, the organization’s annual conference taking place in July 2026.
WFA’s Talent Accelerator program is meeting a critical moment for public sector hiring. According to WFA’s From the Frontlines 2026 report, despite an increase in overall applicant volume for state and local roles, governments’ continued struggle in effectively processing applicants reveals longstanding inefficiencies in hiring systems.
The Transforming City Hiring Processes workshop is only just the beginning of the efforts WFA is taking to support strengthening local governments’ talent systems. A second Talent Accelerator workshop, Data-Driven Hiring for Cities, will launch in Fall 2026 and will focus on helping selected cities use hiring data and metrics to inform decision-making and track progress.
Learn more about WFA’s Talent Accelerator program here.
Cities interested in participating in future cohorts can fill out an interest form here.
About Work for America
Honored by Fast Company as one of 2026 World’s Most Innovative Companies, Work for America is a nonpartisan nonprofit rebuilding the talent pipeline into state and local government. We connect talented professionals to public sector roles, help governments modernize how they recruit and hire, and inspire the next generation of public servants to see government as the most powerful place to drive progress. By expanding pathways into government and telling a new story about public service, Work for America is helping communities build the teams they need to deliver results.
Our work has been recognized by The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Bloomberg, and TIME. Read more here.
