Blogs

YOLANDA R. OWENS (2023—24) is an accomplished professional with a background in civil engineering and contract administration. Recently appointed as the Chief Operating Officer for the Jackson Redevelopment Authority, she is focused on expanding the operational capacity and strategic vision of the organization. Previously, she served as Executive Director of the Jackson State University Development Foundation, bringing several years of non-profit fundraising experience to her role. Her corporate and volunteer work spans project management, strategic planning, and capacity building across corporate, higher education, and non-profit sectors. This distinctive skill set positions her to drive impactful initiatives, including her work on the Farish Street Historic District revitalization project.

It was a simple hypothesis: a year is enough time to fuse a change in how local governments tackle their most significant challenges.  Founded in 2011, FUSE was conceived by longtime McKinsey leader Lenny Mendonca, entrepreneur Peter Sims, and great civic minds inside and outside the public sector to place entrepreneurial talent inside the government.    … Continued

After his FUSE Fellowship, Wesley E. Myrick joined the City of Atlanta Mayor’s Office as a Senior Policy Analyst to continue the work he started as a FUSE Executive Fellow.  

As a FUSE Executive Fellow, Hala Farid (2021–23) worked with the Austin Housing and Planning Department (HPD), now the City of Austin Housing Department, to promote partnerships and strategies that increase the number of affordable housing units in the city. She supported community-led anti-displacement strategies and programs that center racial equity, encourage asset building, and … Continued

As a FUSE Executive Fellow, Kristin Vogel (2022–23) worked with the Milwaukee County Office of Equity to increase coordination of the County’s ecosystem of equity initiatives and build enterprise-wide and regional capacity to strengthen its internal and regional racial equity infrastructure. She launched a Racial Equity Toolkit to support teams in applying a racial equity … Continued

Hyma Menath served as a FUSE Executive Fellow from 2019 to 2021, partnering with the San José Office of the City Manager to devise a racial equity framework for city operations. She bolstered organizational transformation, leveraged data strategically, and designed a racial equity-based survey process to aid economic recovery, including launching a virtual incubator for … Continued

As a FUSE Executive Fellow, Kishani De Silva (2018-21) worked with the Los Angeles County Development Authority to help establish a framework for  its Strategic Partnership Division, its Strategic Partnership Division, developing strategic partnerships and key collaborations to advance affordable housing and programs for vulnerable populations. She launched a Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts, and Mathematics … Continued

As a FUSE executive fellow, Mala Nanda (2016-17) worked with the Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) to help integrate its laboratory services and increase the efficiency of the lab system to ensure the highest quality of patient care throughout the network. She implemented an enterprise-first approach to evaluate clinical test operations and … Continued