Blogs

What does it take to close a jail, open a beach, or house a city's most vulnerable residents? It takes people who know how systems work and how to change them. This spring, FUSE welcomes eight executive fellows bringing decades of private-sector expertise to some of the most pressing challenges facing local government. From Los Angeles to Louisville, meet the fellows bringing operational rigor and strategic vision to regional challenges.

The Taylor Yard Equity Strategy (TYES) is a community-driven initiative in Northeast Los Angeles that emerged alongside plans to transform a former contaminated industrial rail yard into green and open space. This transformation was aimed at ensuring benefits for local residents and businesses through housing stability, economic opportunity and workforce development, cultural preservation, and environmental improvements, while preventing displacement and green gentrification. At TYES, we made a deliberate choice early on: Equity would not be an aspiration. It would be operationalized through structure, process, and accountability.

A Moment of Transition and Opportunity After more than a decade leading FUSE together, James Weinberg and Nancy Gage have decided to begin a thoughtful leadership transition over the coming year. This decision is grounded in the shared belief that FUSE is ready for its next chapter and well-positioned for new leadership to continue its … Continued

The City of Phoenix Office of Sustainability has already taken important steps, including adopting ambitious 2050 Sustainability Goals and completing its first Residential Energy Access Plan, which includes six goals focused on participation, increased access, and resilience. But having a plan and living it are different things. Moving from a strategy document to tangible, household‑level change requires focus, coordination, and a shared sense of what “success” looks like for low‑ and moderate‑income (LMI) residents. That gap between plan and practice is where my FUSE Innovation Lab—and my fellowship—came in.

In January 2026, city leaders, agency partners, and community-minded innovators convened in Salt Lake City for the FUSE Innovation Lab to explore how the City’s transportation vision can be translated into real-world implementation.

As communities across the country confront the accelerating demands of the climate crisis, local governments are stepping forward with ambitious plans, and increasingly, they are turning to FUSE Executive Fellows to help bring them to life. The Fall 2024 cohort exemplifies the power of cross-sector collaboration, applied innovation, and community-centered leadership to drive systems change that endures well beyond their fellowship.

See how FUSE Executive Fellows help cities modernize utilities, cut energy costs, reduce flood risk, and build community trust.

Across the country, local governments are addressing some of today’s most complex challenges, including expanding affordable housing, strengthening small business ecosystems, accelerating climate action, and building inclusive pathways to opportunity. This fall, 20 FUSE Executive Fellows are partnering with city and county leaders to drive bold, community-centered solutions that advance resilience and economic mobility.

The current energy and infrastructure transition in the United States might seem incremental—even slow. But considering the breadth of plans emerging from cities across the country, the work ahead represents an incredible shift. According to the NRDC, “Achieving net zero by 2050 [a goal in line with many city and regional energy plans] will require generating 84 to 95 percent of the U.S. energy supply from renewable sources.”