Los Angeles County has a vision for a justice system that promotes a “Care First, Jail Last” approach. Rather than relying on incarceration as the primary response, the County will safely and methodically depopulate the County jail and invest in community-based services that address root causes of justice involvement. In June 2021, the County committed to closing Men’s Central Jail (MCJ) and enhancing the community continuum of care. The Executive Fellow will support this goal by developing and advancing a jail closure implementation plan. As a result of this work, justice-affected Angelenos will access opportunities and care rather than incarceration.

Fellowship Dates: October 27, 2025 – October 23, 2026

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual base salary of $80,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. Compensation for this year of public service is not intended to represent market-rate compensation for the experienced professionals in our program.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to work more effectively for communities. We embed private sector executives in city and county agencies to lead projects that improve public services and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 400 projects in 58 governments across 26 states, impacting a total population equivalent to 1 in 10 Americans.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and community stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward high-priority local needs. Projects address today’s most pressing challenges and opportunities, including affordable housing, economic mobility, climate resilience, public safety, infrastructure, technology, and more.

FUSE conducts a full executive search for each individual project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the community being served.

Executive Fellows are embedded in government agencies working with senior leaders for at least one year of full-time work. Prospective responsibilities may include thorough data analytics and research, developing enhanced operations and financial models, building change management and strategic planning processes, and/or building broad coalitions to support project implementation efforts. Executive Fellows are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects. They build strong relationships with a broad array of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

Throughout the fellowships, Executive Fellows receive training, coaching, and professional support to help achieve their project goals.

PROJECT CONTEXT

The County of Los Angeles (LAC) has been working to address jail overcrowding for two decades and, for the last four years, it has been working to close MCJ. To achieve this goal, the County has adopted a “Care First, Jail Last” approach to justice. Rather than incarcerating people, County officials aim to divert more people to medical treatment, community-based support, and other programs that appropriately address the drivers of justice involvement (e.g., homelessness, addiction, mental illness, poverty). The LAC Community Safety Implementation Team (CSIT) is responsible for coordinating County-wide efforts to close MCJ and build the community-based support programs necessary to make the closure possible.

The County of Los Angeles will partner with FUSE to support CSIT’s closure of MCJ. The Executive Fellow will assist with CSIT’s priorities: develop an implementation plan for closing MCJ; coordinate inter-departmental lines of effort; pilot or expand initiatives that advance MCJ’s closure; and create a data collection and monitoring system. As a result of this work, the County will effectuate the closure of Men’s Central Jail and better position justice-affected individuals to have opportunities, resources, and alternatives to incarceration.

PROJECT SUMMARY- Health Systems Fellow

Beginning November 2025, the FUSE Executive Fellow will develop deep relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, including County partners (e.g., Justice Care & Opportunities Department, Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department, LAC Departments of Public Health, Mental Health, and Health Services, ), community partners, and members of the public, with an emphasis on justice-affected BIPOC individuals, LGBTQ+ people, and women. The Executive Fellow will seek to understand the resources, opportunities, and aspirations these partners have for MCJ closure and the “Care First, Jails Last” agenda—and assist CSIT with a plan to implementing jail depopulation. In addition, the Executive Fellow will review best practices for decarceration nationally and, as relevant, internationally. Finally, the Executive Fellow will work with their Executive Sponsor and Project Supervisor to develop and approve specific project goals and deliverables. While these goals and deliverables will likely include the ones listed below, they may differ based on situational changes and the Executive Fellow’s specific skills and experience.

Next, the Executive Fellow will manage a major functional area of the County’s jail closure implementation plan. The plan should flow from the closure framework CSIT has developed. It should include tangible steps to advance two pillars: closing MCJ and building the community-based support system. In addition to assisting with developing key implementation components, the Executive Fellow will provide the planning and analysis to assist CSIT with securing the Board of Supervisors’ support for the closure plan. A successful Executive Fellow will have developed an implementation plan and garnered buy-in from County partners to execute their respective responsibilities for implementing such plans.

Some examples of the work of the Executive Fellow are as follows:

  • Manage the design and coordination of a community-based behavioral health system of care as a core component of CSIT’s jail closure framework
  • Work with County Health Departments to analyze and assess the County’s behavioral health service systems to determine how these systems can effectively serve individuals who would otherwise be incarcerated due to unmet behavioral health needs. Responsibilities will include mapping the current structure, identifying opportunities for improvement, expansion, and assisting with coordinating the integration of care across public and private health care systems.
  • Research—and apply—best practices for shifting resources toward community-based care and coordinated health interventions to reduce individuals’ contact with the criminal justice system;
  • Analyze and synthesize local, state, and federal policies relating to the health system and apply learnings from the changing landscape to the closure plan (e.g., Medicaid/Medicaid waiver changes, and Behavioral Health Services Act)
  • Estimate costs and assess budgetary resources (e.g., existing and potential new funding sources).
  • Draft an implementation plan and, under the direction of CSIT leadership, liaise with external partners to execute the plan (e.g., stakeholder engagement, planning and design, assist with the related contracting process and community engagement)
  • Prepare correspondence, reports and studies related to LAC’s system of care needs as they pertain to jail closure;
  • Project manage all aspects of the above.

If successful, this coordination will advance the implementation plan and secure buy-in of key stakeholders during the process. To ensure sustainability, the Executive Fellow must enable CSIT to advance MCJ closure on an ambitious timeline while centering the needs of justice-affected BIPOC individuals, LGBTQ+ people, women, and their families and communities. Any ongoing CSIT responsibilities to close the jail or build the community of care should be feasible under the current budget and staffing pattern. In addition, the Executive Fellow should maintain a transition plan during their fellowship year and ensure a timely handover of any ongoing tasks prior to the end of their fellowship year.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

  • Executive Sponsor: Wilford Pinkney, Jr., Executive Director, Community Safety Implementation Team (CSIT)
  • Project Supervisor: Chidinma Ume, Deputy Executive Director, Community Safety Implementation Team(CSIT)

QUALIFICATIONS

  • Synthesizes complex information into clear and concise recommendations and action-oriented implementation plans.
  • Develops and effectively implements both strategic and operational project management plans.
  • Generates innovative, data-driven, and result-oriented solutions to complex challenges.
  • Respond quickly to changing ideas, responsibilities, expectations, trends, strategies, and other processes.
  • Communicates effectively verbally and in writing and excels in active listening and conversing.
  • Fosters collaboration across multiple constituencies to support more effective decision-making.
  • Establishes and maintains strong relationships with diverse stakeholders, both inside and outside of government, particularly community-based relationships.
  • Embraces differing viewpoints and implements strategies to find common ground.
  • Demonstrates confidence and professional diplomacy while effectively interacting with individuals at all levels of various organizations.

FUSE is an equal opportunity employer. We encourage candidates from all backgrounds to apply for this position.