FUSE Executive Fellows and Alumni

Fresno County and FUSE are partnering to design a countywide return-on-investment (ROI) framework that links public health spending to measurable outcomes. The project will strengthen data-driven decision-making, improve resource allocation, and advance access in health services. FUSE Executive Fellow Elissa Schuler Adair will develop and pilot an ROI methodology and analytical toolkit. Ultimately, this work will enhance accountability and improve health outcomes across Fresno County.

 Austin, TX, is working to enhance its housing programs to advance economic mobility and expand access to long-term financial opportunities for all residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Lasandra Barksdale will develop data-driven strategies to evaluate program effectiveness, strengthen housing initiatives, and explore sustainable financing models to support first-time homebuyers and income-restricted renters. Ultimately, this will help Austin enhance its housing system, support upward mobility, and foster a more inclusive and financially resilient community. 

The City of Philadelphia is committed to serving its residents by fostering economic growth and enhancing the quality of life for all communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Christine Behr will collaborate with a team of content experts to develop strategic recommendations and pilot solutions that strengthen and scale up city operations and programs, addressing challenges related to land acquisition and disposition, permitting and zoning barriers, and developer capacity.

The City of Tulsa has an ambitious goal of placing 15,000 additional children and youth on pathways to economic mobility by 2030. Youth workforce development is central to this vision. FUSE Executive Fellow Stacy Boone will conduct comprehensive analyses, convene key cross-sector stakeholders, and develop an actionable strategy to strengthen Tulsa’s youth workforce ecosystem. As a result of this work, Tulsa’s young people will gain access to dignified, sustainable career opportunities in their hometown and beyond, creating meaningful economic mobility regardless of their educational pathway. 

Los Angeles County and FUSE are partnering to advance a “Care First, Jail Last” vision by supporting the closure of Men’s Central Jail through expanded community-based care. The project will develop and implement a comprehensive plan to reduce incarceration and strengthen behavioral health and social service systems. FUSE Executive Fellow Arthur Bray-Simons will coordinate cross-agency efforts, design system improvements, and build stakeholder alignment. Ultimately, this work will shift the County’s justice system toward community-centered alternatives to incarceration.

Los Angeles County is enhancing service coordination across departments through the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative and the Prevention and Promotion Coordination and Implementation Team (PPCIT) to address housing, child welfare, and behavioral health challenges. FUSE Executive Fellow Gary Campanella will lead efforts to align resources, streamline services, and develop sustainable processes, ensuring equitable access for all residents, especially BIPOC and underserved communities. This initiative will create long-term, user-friendly coordination frameworks that empower the County to deliver inclusive, effective services for its diverse population.

New York City’s Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is enhancing its organizational efficiency through the optimization of a newly designed Project Management Office (PMO). This initiative focuses on refining processes, tools, and methodologies to support long-term implementation success while identifying and implementing strategic projects to improve operational performance. By strengthening project management capabilities and fostering a culture of continuous improvement, DEP aims to enhance its operational efficiency, advance environmental justice initiatives, and deliver improved environmental services for all New Yorkers, particularly in underserved communities.

 Tucson, Arizona, is developing a Solar Empowerment Program to provide low-income households with increased access to affordable, renewable energy solutions. FUSE Executive Fellow Carlos Corcuera will develop strategic recommendations to scale the program, leveraging federal Solar for All funds and ensuring long-term sustainability through innovative financing strategies. Ultimately, this initiative will reduce energy costs, enhance climate resilience, and promote a more accessible and sustainable future for Tucson’s most vulnerable communities. 

The City of Phoenix Aviation Department (AVN) is working to implement clean energy solutions throughout the airport system, including Phoenix Sky Harbor International (PHX), Deer Valley (DVT), and Goodyear airports to increase resilience, reduce emissions, and support long-term climate goals. FUSE Executive Fellow Daryl DeJean will develop a strategic roadmap for deploying clean energy solutions, including on-site energy storage and microgrid infrastructure. This work will help AVN enhance operational resilience, promote clean energy adoption, and deliver long-term benefits to airport workers, travelers, and the surrounding communities. 

Austin, Texas, is working to implement economic resilience strategies that address longstanding disparities in access to opportunity and small business support across its communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Sandy Eapen will help the city pilot and scale these strategies by coordinating cross-sector efforts and developing tools for long-term implementation and sustainability. Ultimately, this will help Austin strengthen economic mobility, expand access to services, and foster a more inclusive and resilient local economy. 

 The City of Phoenix is working to achieve carbon neutrality for municipal properties by optimizing existing solar assets and expanding renewable energy capacity. FUSE Executive Fellow David Farias will develop a comprehensive business case and strategic plan to transition solar assets to City ownership and identify new development opportunities on underutilized properties. Ultimately, this will help Phoenix reduce greenhouse gas emissions, maximize its solar potential, and build a more sustainable and resilient energy future for all residents. 

The City of Atlanta and FUSE are partnering to align and strengthen youth development initiatives across historically underinvested neighborhoods. The project will coordinate programs across education, safety, and career pathways under a unified strategy. FUSE Executive Fellow Gabrielle Garvin will drive cross-sector collaboration and systems alignment. Ultimately, this work will expand opportunity, reduce disparities, and make Atlanta the best place to raise a child.

Phoenix is implementing an ambitious program to expand clean energy access for over 11,000 low and middle-income households while addressing energy disparities in vulnerable communities. Leveraging a $156 million U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) grant in partnership with the Arizona Office of Resiliency, this initiative will provide rooftop solar installations, whole-home energy upgrades, and energy bill credits to residents, with costs almost entirely covered for the lowest income participants. FUSE Executive Fellow TrixieAnn Golberg will build strategic partnerships, develop community engagement strategies, and streamline application processes to ensure equitable program implementation, ultimately advancing energy equity, lowering costs, and creating more resilient communities in one of America’s most solar-friendly cities.

First 5 Fresno County and FUSE are partnering to strengthen community-based organizations’ (CBOs) capacity to access and manage Medi-Cal healthcare funding. The project will develop tools, funding strategies, and training programs to enable CBOs to scale services. FUSE Executive Fellow BJ Harlow will build systems and partnerships to support sustainable access to funding. Ultimately, this work will expand access to community-based healthcare for Fresno residents.

The Louisville-Jefferson County Metro Government (LMG) aims to catalyze economic growth and opportunity by significantly increasing Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) investments in underserved neighborhoods. Louisville currently lags behind peer cities in CDFI activity, with only $187 per person in lending compared to the U.S. average of $714. The FUSE Executive Fellow will conduct a comprehensive analysis of Louisville’s CDFI ecosystem, identify opportunities for innovative financial services, and develop a strategic plan aligning local government policy with CDFI investments. This initiative seeks to stimulate entrepreneurship, expand homeownership, and create wealth-building opportunities in historically underserved communities.

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. FUSE Executive Fellow Namjoo Hashemi will support this goal by developing and advancing a plan for implementing jail closures. As a result of this work, justice-impacted Angelenos will have access to opportunities and care rather than incarceration. 

The City of Boston is committed to preventing commercial gentrification while expanding economic opportunities for all residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Brittany Hume Charm will support the Office of Economic Opportunity and Inclusion (OEOI) in designing and implementing a strategic framework that drives community-led investments in historically overlooked neighborhoods. Drawing inspiration from successful models like Invest Detroit, this initiative will focus on the Fairmount Corridor, a collection of neighborhoods home to many historically underrepresented families. By raising and deploying strategic capital in these communities, Boston aims to prevent displacement, create jobs, and build generational wealth for residents from all backgrounds.

 The City of Baltimore is working to expand access to capital for small businesses, with a focus on historically underserved communities, to address longstanding funding challenges and promote sustainable economic growth. FUSE Executive Fellow Lolita Jackmon will develop strategic recommendations to improve financial accessibility, strengthen partnerships with lenders, and design innovative funding models that increase business sustainability. Ultimately, this will help Baltimore close capital access gaps for all entrepreneurs, particularly those from historically underserved communities, fostering a more resilient small business ecosystem. 

Phoenix, Arizona, is working to expand its Resource Innovation Campus (RIC) to advance renewable materials recovery and support citywide sustainability goals. FUSE Executive Fellow Keytoria King will develop strategic recommendations to guide the next phase of RIC development, including tenant attraction, pilot project implementation, and performance tracking. This will support the City’s efforts to expand its renewable energy infrastructure, reduce its dependency on fossil fuels, and foster the development of a more sustainable and resilient local economy. 

The City of Durham is developing a comprehensive strategy to optimize energy efficiency across its water and wastewater treatment facilities to reduce operational costs and lower utility bills for residents. This project focuses on analyzing current systems and implementing technologies that enhance sustainability while reducing energy consumption. By optimizing processes, exploring alternative energy sources, and implementing precise measurement systems at Durham’s four treatment facilities, the initiative aims to improve affordability, sustainability, and conservation efforts while addressing disparities in water and energy access for all city residents.

The City of Austin and FUSE are partnering to expand access to advanced manufacturing careers for local students. The project will strengthen coordination between schools, employers, and public agencies to build a robust workforce pipeline. FUSE Executive Fellow Edgar Padilla will design strategies to increase participation and improve career pathway systems. Ultimately, this work will support economic mobility and regional resilience.

Los Angeles County is advancing racial equity in its homelessness response by implementing the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness (BPEH) recommendations in collaboration with the County’s Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative. FUSE Executive Fellow Ni Kal S. Price will develop an accountability framework, track progress across County departments, and foster collaboration with key stakeholders to ensure equitable, culturally responsive services. This work will build sustainable infrastructure to close resource gaps, improve service delivery, and create a more inclusive system of care for Black residents and all individuals experiencing homelessness.

Long Beach is addressing economic disparities in West Long Beach, the neighborhood surrounding the Port of Long Beach, through the Westside Promise initiative. Despite being home to a major economic engine that handles $200 billion in goods annually, the Westside experiences poor air quality, below-average household incomes, and high childhood poverty rates. This project will expand wealth creation and financial inclusion programs through strategic partnerships, helping residents build household assets, access formal banking services, and create sustainable pathways to economic empowerment in this predominantly (90%) community of color.

Boston envisions a city where all families can access the educational, recreational, health, and community resources their children need to succeed both in and out of school. FUSE Executive Fellow Priyankur Roy will lead strategic project management for the Boston Children’s Council, coordinating work across departments, including policies, programs, and initiatives developed for young people from cradle to career. This work also includes implementation of three key initiatives: the city-wide Connect, Learn, Explore program; neighborhoods of opportunity beginning with Mattapan; and city-wide heat resilience programs for early childhood. As a result of this work, more Boston families will have access to the resources they need to thrive. 

The City of Louisville and FUSE are partnering to expand permanent supportive housing (PSH) as a solution to chronic homelessness. The project will operationalize the Home for Good initiative to deliver 250 PSH units by 2027. FUSE Executive Fellow Stacy Shireman will coordinate stakeholders, align funding, and develop a sustainable implementation framework. Ultimately, this work will improve housing stability, public health, and community resilience.

Los Angeles County and FUSE are partnering to develop financially sustainable strategies for managing the County’s 18 public beaches. The project will analyze policies, fees, and funding structures to improve cost recovery while expanding access, especially for historically excluded communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Atisa Sioshansi will lead policy redesign, stakeholder engagement, and intergovernmental negotiations. Ultimately, this work will enable the County to sustain high-quality beaches that remain accessible to all residents.

Tucson, Arizona is working to transform its Public Housing Authority (PHA) into a national model of sustainability by improving energy efficiency. Integrating renewable energy solutions and implementing water conservation measures. FUSE Executive Fellow John Stringfellow will work with Tucson’s housing sustainability roadmap to help drive implementation, ensuring HCD housing residents benefit from reduced utility costs and increased climate resilience. Ultimately, this project will help Tucson create affordable, sustainable housing and foster a more resilient future for its most vulnerable communities. 

The City of Tulsa and FUSE are partnering to reduce blight and revitalize neighborhoods by improving systems for managing vacant and deteriorating properties. The project will streamline enforcement, integrate data systems, and strengthen rehabilitation strategies. FUSE Executive Fellow Shelly Termini will develop and pilot coordinated solutions across agencies and partners. Ultimately, this work will expand housing opportunities and foster safer, more resilient neighborhoods.

Atlanta is addressing significant wealth disparities through a comprehensive neighborhood wealth-building strategy to support economic inclusion and protect legacy residents during revitalization efforts. This initiative focuses on ensuring equitable benefits from community investments, particularly in historically underserved areas where White households hold median wealth levels of $238,000 compared to just $5,000 for Black households. By developing targeted strategies and implementing a “Main Street” economic initiative along commercial corridors, Atlanta aims to create pathways to prosperity and strengthen community resilience in underserved neighborhoods.

The City of Phoenix is transitioning its municipal fleet to low-emission and alternative-fuel vehicles as part of its broader climate and sustainability initiatives. FUSE Executive Fellow Weijia Xie will lead the development of a strategic roadmap to guide this transition, with a focus on operational efficiency, infrastructure planning, and workforce readiness. This work will help the City meet its climate goals, reduce air pollution, and ensure city operations remain cost-effective, reliable, and responsive to the needs of all communities. 

The County of San Diego (COSD) is working to develop and implement multiple agricultural-related activities identified in the COSD’s Climate Action Plan (CAP), which will reduce greenhouse gas emissions, increase carbon sequestration, improve soil health, and strengthen local food systems. FUSE Executive Fellow Tina Yerkes will support and lead the development and implementation of a program that expands access to climate-smart agricultural practices for producers, coordinate an incentive program to encourage agricultural producers to transition to more energy and fuel-efficient equipment, and promote resources and programs for reducing the use of synthetic fertilizers and increasing alternative manure management methods. Ultimately, this will help the COSD achieve its CAP goals, support sustainable agriculture, invest in agricultural producers, and foster a more resilient and inclusive farming community. 

In collaboration with FUSE, the City of Los Angeles is undertaking a transformative initiative, SmartLA 2028, to bridge digital disparities and ensure equitable access to technology and opportunities. Starting in April 2024, FUSE Executive Fellow Kristen Abraham will engage stakeholders, conduct research, and develop a comprehensive Digital Inclusion Strategic Plan by April 2025. This strategic plan aims to guide the City’s digital equity efforts, utilizing community input through a recurring survey and extensive engagement to address the unique needs of residents at risk of digital exclusion.

Los Angeles County is working to place 50,000 formerly incarcerated residents into jobs that will help them reintegrate into the community. FUSE Executive Fellow Alex-Handrah helped L.A. County ensure that those who have been convicted of crimes that are now considered misdemeanors have a chance to improve their lives and contribute to their community. Read more

To ensure the fair administration of criminal justice, St. Louis and the 22nd Judicial Circuit are working to improve communication, collaboration, and planning. To this end, FUSE Executive Fellow Debbie Allen helped operationalize and institutionalize a Criminal Justice Coordinating Council (CJCC), for which she then served as interim executive director. Debbie helped the CJCC establish the foundation for an information sharing ecosystem, improving the operation of criminal justice systems in St. Louis through effective data collection, sharing, and analysis. Read more

California operates the second-largest prison system in the United States. Los Angeles County is the largest contributor to this system, and while incarceration has declined, men and women of color continued to be incarcerated at higher rates than white men and women. Working with the Alternate Public Defender’s Office, a FUSE Executive Fellow will build out recommendations and implement a global, collaborative approach to resentencing indigent defense clients, to assist in remedying the decades-long over-incarceration in the state.

Oakland leadership seeks to ensure that all departments have the tools and resources needed to track and report on equity-centered targets aligned to key health, climate, and economic indicators. FUSE will build and pilot a strategic performance management system across all city departments, enabling local leaders to drive equitable community outcomes and set public targets that ensure transparency and accountability.

L.A. County is working to ensure that those emerging from the criminal justice system are successfully reintegrated into society. FUSE Executive Fellow Jessica Aronoff worked with the county to strengthen wraparound services and ensure that people under post-release community supervision are able to swiftly and successfully rejoin their communities. Read more

As Covid-19’s impact on transportation in the County continues to evolve, King County recognizes that public transit is at the heart of a successful recovery from the crisis and is focused on creating a better system for the riders who have needed transit the most during the crisis. Given this, the Metro Transit Department will partner with a FUSE Executive Fellow for one year to build strategic partnerships with businesses to expand employee access to subsidized transit passes, particularly for low-wage and low-income workers.

Los Angeles County seeks to reduce reliance on incarceration and increase care for those who encounter the justice system. A new department has been created to oversee projects related to this vision. The department needs a system to ensure high value projects are prioritized and resources allocated for maximum impact. The Executive Fellow will lead an effort to create a project portfolio management system to help the department be successful.

The Los Angeles County Chief Executive Office (CEO) first partnered with FUSE to support the building out a strategic plan for the County’s Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Equity Initiative, guiding, governing, and driving the County’s commitment to fighting systemic racism, working proactively to change policies and practices over which the County has control. LA County will now partner with FUSE to lead a training and education initiative across the County, supporting the adoption of and capacity building for this work.

Philadelphia is developing strategies to help lift people out of poverty and into a more economically stable future. FUSE Executive Fellow Natalie Barndt helped analyze poverty data and convened stakeholders to discuss existing and potential new initiatives. Read more

East Palo Alto is working to curb the negative effects of traffic, congestion, and parking on its residents’ health, safety, and quality of life through innovative policies and programs. To do this, FUSE Executive Fellow Susan L. Barnes is working with staff on a Transportation Demand Management Ordinance, helping develop recommendations and identify a third-party consultant to implement and manage the program. Read more

San Jose is working to provide a reliable internet connection to all of its residents, ensuring access to people in underserved communities so they can tap such online resources as continuing education, career development, job openings, and healthcare options. FUSE Executive Fellow Tauqeer Bashir helped create a strategy for wireless solutions and a plan for implementation.

The Birmingham Department of Community Development is working to institute a multi-pronged approach to diversify Birmingham’s housing stock and preserve and create new affordable housing options for residents. To support this work, Birmingham will partner with a FUSE Executive Fellow for one year to operationalize public-private partnerships to increase opportunities for first-time homebuyers and form a vision for an affordable housing land trust.

With a range of programs and a large client base, the Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services is working to improve how it connects residents with services. To do this, WDACS is partnering with FUSE Executive Fellow Nathaniel Sanga Bencivenga to assess its existing client touch points, better communicate information about its suite of services, and make recommendations to ensure that residents are being connected to all the services they need.

The City of San Leandro is focused on building residents’ resilience to climate change through inclusive, community-driven pathways. This strategy aims to plant 5,000 trees on both public and private property and engage local community organizations to become resilience hubs. The FUSE Executive Fellow will support this effort by managing a grant to plant trees and coordinating the network of community organizations involved in resilience planning and implementation.

Philadelphia is developing a comprehensive business succession and commercial real estate acquisition program to support immigrant-owned small businesses, which make up 36% of the city’s 41,000 small businesses in commercial corridors. This initiative will create strategic tools and partnerships to help immigrant business owners build generational wealth and transition to commercial property ownership. By addressing barriers to business succession planning and property acquisition, Philadelphia aims to prevent displacement, preserve cultural assets, and reduce wealth disparities while sustaining the vibrancy of diverse commercial corridors.

The Oakland Mayor’s Office is working to help more of the city’s high school students complete a postsecondary education. FUSE Executive Fellow Patrice Berry assisted with these efforts, instituting innovations and technology that empower young adults and give them access to the resources they need to prepare for life after high school. Read more

The Los Angeles Department of Probation is working to leverage technology to enhance services, become more cost effective, and increase efficiencies. FUSE Executive Fellow Alok Bhatia is helping execute core IT improvements, while assisting with changes to office operations due to the COVID-19 crisis and increasing the team’s resiliency.

Birmingham recognizes that social determinants of health are major factors in health inequities across the city. These factors include the ways in which neighborhoods are designed, the materials used in their buildings, access to green spaces, and other aspects of the “built environment.” In the Community Health Assessment of Birmingham’s 99 neighborhoods, North Birmingham ranked as the lowest quality of life in the City – a neighborhood that is 97% Black. To address this injustice, the city created ShapeBham, a tool to integrate equity measures into the planning process at the neighborhood level. FUSE will operationalize ShapeBham and target the root causes of health inequities in the city, showing measurable progress against concrete health indicators.

As Covid-19 exacerbates the socioeconomic challenges faced by the most vulnerable Los Angeles (LA) residents, the responsibilities of the LA County Public Defender’s Office (PDO) have only expanded. As this office works to support equitable judicial policies, it requires a data management specialist with a deep understanding of systemic inequalities in the legal system. FUSE Executive Fellow Mario Bonifacio will lead the build-out of a PDO Data Analytics Unit to spearhead various reform-oriented research projects.

St. Louis is working to recruit and retain police officers who are representative of all the communities they serve. FUSE Executive Fellow Michelle Martin Bonner developed strategies to increase the number of highly qualified diverse candidates, resulting in a broadened applicant pool.

The Los Angeles County Department of Probation is working to reduce recidivism by using evidence-based practices and community-based services to help justice-involved youths succeed. To assist with these efforts, FUSE Executive Fellow Kim Bowman Jr. brought community voice and leadership into governmental processes, while strengthening the strategic visioning and management practices of the largest probation department in the country. Read more

Los Angeles is working to strengthen its support for small businesses, particularly those in underserved communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Rafael Bracero helped streamline the administrative process for small businesses and improved how the city communicates its available services to business owners. Read more

The Unified Government of Kansas City and Wyandotte County is currently working to increase affordable housing options to address the rising housing shortage crisis and increase the city’s workforce and economic development potential as well as the well-being of its citizens. FUSE Executive Fellow DeWayne Bright, Sr. will help research and design a cohesive housing development strategy that will help increase housing affordability and availability, encourage housing retention in vulnerable neighborhoods, and maximize local economic impacts on building owners, residents, and businesses.

The City of Durham is expanding access to its generous down payment assistance program, which offers up to $80,000 to qualifying low and moderate-income households, but remains underutilized by eligible residents. The initiative focuses on developing comprehensive outreach strategies, including multi-channel marketing campaigns, targeted community engagement, and strategic partnerships to increase program visibility and accessibility. By connecting more eligible residents with these resources, Durham aims to prevent displacement, provide housing stability, and build intergenerational wealth for families at risk in the city’s rapidly growing real estate market.

The City of Los Angeles aims to promote digital equity for its residents. As part of that effort, the Los Angeles Public Library is equipping City employees and Angelenos with the knowledge and assets necessary to bridge the digital divide. FUSE Executive Fellow Alia Brown will support this effort by documenting the City’s digital assets, designing a digital knowledge management system, and planning strategic communications campaigns to connect with unconnected residents.

The New Orleans Police Department is employing technology to improve a range of operational processes. FUSE Executive Fellow E. Aminata Brown led these efforts, working with strategic teams to guide the outcomes of this work. By functioning more efficiently, the NOPD is empowering its officers to better serve the community. Read more

Los Angeles County operates the largest jail system and de-facto mental health care facility in the United States, holding more than 17,000 people daily, nearly 30% of whom have a serious mental health disorder. The County has taken several steps to reduce its reliance on incarceration and expand diversion and treatment programs, including conducting a successful pre-plea mental health diversion pilot. FUSE will partner with L.A. County to scale the pilot into the new Rapid Diversion Program under the County’s “Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative.” FUSE will work to implement a cohesive and effective program for eight courthouses in the next year, supporting a sustained and significant reduction in the County jail population.

The City of Jacksonville, FL, is partnering with FUSE to address the escalating impacts of climate change by developing comprehensive Climate Resilient Design Guidelines. FUSE Executive Fellow Michael Buonvino will conduct a thorough analysis, engaging stakeholders and researching national best practices to create a standardized approach to resilient, sustainable, and innovative infrastructure design. By September 2024, the aim is to deliver a comprehensive document that equips Jacksonville with the tools to adapt to climate change, safeguard vulnerable communities, and enhance overall community resilience.

Durham is a leader in analyzing how to respond to 911 calls without involving law enforcement. Estimates suggest that at least 1 in 3 emergency calls would be better directed to trained health professionals rather than police officers. FUSE will work alongside Durham’s Community Safety and Wellness Task Force to ensure that community members inform the design of such alternative responses to these calls. FUSE will pilot new response strategies in Durham that can be scaled nationwide to drastically reduce the use of law enforcement in responding to emergency calls. 

The City of Baltimore is launching CleanCorps, a new initiative designed to beautify neighborhoods, increase resident employment, and tackle health inequities in underserved communities. To support this work, Baltimore will partner with FUSE Corps to maximize the impact of the initiative, building close partnerships with community-based and city-wide nonprofit organizations and implementing strategies for ways in which Baltimore can reduce the long-term need for supplemental cleaning efforts.

King County Public Health–Seattle & King County (PHSKC) and its Environmental Health Services Division (EHS) are
dedicated to building innovative and intersectional climate solutions that support community resilience and limit the climate-related health burdens on frontline communities. PHSKC will partner with a FUSE Executive Fellow for one year to establish a climate health equity program, focusing specifically on programs and projects relevant to EHS.

The pandemic has caused job losses by the thousands in the Bay Area, with Oakland’s unemployment rate nearing 10%. This has only exacerbated existing racial disparities in joblessness and poverty experienced by Oakland’s Black and Hispanic residents. The City seeks to curb this gulf and is taking immediate action to support equitable workforce development programs and job pipelines. FUSE will partner with Oakland to create a holistic workforce development system that utilizes data to align investments and expand access to high-quality jobs and careers. A key priority will be ensuring that opportunities are inclusive of all Oaklanders.

Salt Lake City, UT, is working to bolster workforce development opportunities under its new Comprehensive Climate Action Plan (CCAP) to address the negative impacts of climate change while also benefiting the economic security of all its residents, especially for historically disinvested and low-income communities that lack resources to respond to the climate crisis. FUSE Executive Fellow Nathan Chai will partner with Salt Lake City to guide workforce planning and analysis under the new CCAP that will ultimately help increase equitable green job opportunities for residents.

The Birmingham Civil Rights Institute (BCRI) plays a leading role in the national conversations on social justice and racial equity, and it serves as a hub for training and education in Birmingham. Among its many services, BCRI provides education and diversity training to law enforcement officers, a role it hopes to scale and deepen. FUSE will work with the Birmingham Office of Social Justice and Racial Equity and BCRI to create sustainable programming and infrastructure that will help the BCRI thrive for generations to come.

In response to the immediate climate change risks in New York City, the Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is collaborating with FUSE to establish a Project Management Office (PMO) aimed at enhancing operational efficiency and responsiveness. Starting in April 2024, FUSE Executive Fellow Martin Challinor will engage with DEP leaders, conduct a comprehensive review of best practices, and identify opportunities for efficiency improvement in key areas such as IT, human resources, and procurement. By April 2025, Challinor aims to operationalize the PMO, implement high-priority efficiency improvements, and foster a culture of positive change, positioning DEP to address climate change challenges in the city effectively.

The Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services is working to ensure its resources are maximized and broadly accessible to further protect the well-being of residents in the face of the COVID-19 pandemic. FUSE Executive Fellow Swati Chandra is assisting in WDACS response and recovery efforts for COVID-19, while also helping WDACS improve operations and extend its outreach by developing data-driven goals and further enhancing its brand and websites. Read more

East Palo Alto is working to better engage with residents, including improved access to services and elected officials, especially during the COVID-19 crisis. To assist in these efforts, FUSE Executive Fellow Jerry Chang is developing enhanced community engagement strategies and facilitating participation in the civic process using new digital platforms.

Nationwide, most people with substance abuse disorders do not receive treatment for their addiction. The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health’s Division of Substance Abuse Prevention and Control (SAPC) is working to enhance access to substance use disorder (SUD) care to address the treatment gap. Maria Elena Chavez will map the spectrum of screening, intake, and admissions policies and procedures for the County’s SUD provider network, identify practical approaches SAPC can take to reduce barriers and increase the accessibility of care provided by the provider network and develop an implementation plan to equip providers across the network.

The City of Austin, TX is building a Resilience Hub Network of physical facilities, community networks, and empowerment tools that provide hyper-localized, contextually, and culturally relevant solutions to address ongoing stressors in communities and bolster distributed disaster response and recovery efforts. The FUSE Executive Fellow will work with city, community, and private stakeholders to research, plan, and implement a strategy to activate community-owned, community-operated sites for Austin’s Resilience Hub Network.

The Justice, Care, and Opportunities Department (JCOD), established by the Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors in 2022, pioneers a groundbreaking initiative in the United States by prioritizing alternatives to incarceration for justice-impacted individuals. Already making a substantial impact with over $55 million in grants, JCOD partners with FUSE to develop a strategic visual and multimedia storytelling approach. Overseeing stakeholder engagement, creating culturally relevant communications products, and implementing a methodology for assessing outreach effectiveness, FUSE Executive Fellow Joshua Clark aims to empower JCOD in effectively communicating its innovative mission and achievements across diverse communities in Los Angeles County by April 2025.

The City of Hayward, CA, is working to mitigate the impacts of climate change and equitably reduce its environmental footprint through a new Climate Action Plan (CAP). FUSE Executive Fellow Fred A. Clay will help execute transportation-related CAP strategies to increase the use of alternative, active transportation methods for residents. Ultimately, this will help the city reduce community-wide greenhouse gas emissions while centering racial equity on achieving its climate goals for carbon neutrality by 2045.

The City of Oakland is dedicated to becoming a leader in responding to the climate crisis through ambitious policy and racially equitable implementation plans. The FUSE Executive Fellow will partner with FUSE to identify and assess the feasibility of establishing Resilience Hubs in Oakland’s frontline communities, helping residents mitigate and adapt to the climate crisis in ways that improve racial equity across the city.

DeKalb County, part of the Atlanta metro area in Georgia, is committed to reducing its climate impact and addressing environmental justice issues. Through a partnership with FUSE, the County aims to develop and implement policies to reduce its carbon footprint, improve waste management, and enhance community resilience.

Los Angeles is working to integrate new technologies into its infrastructure, but many of the projects need attention. FUSE Executive Fellow Dawn Comer helped the city create a smart city roadmap, launched projects, and created public-private partnerships that will allow for a sustainable future. Read more

Getting help through community-based social services can reduce the likelihood of people on probation going back to jail. Aiming to provide that help, the Los Angeles County Probation Department worked with FUSE Executive Fellow Amy Cross to identify and implement strategies that help those on probation successfully reintegrate into communities. Read more

Salt Lake City is working to implement a comprehensive City-wide Transportation Plan with a specific focus on addressing historical disparities in transportation access. This initiative aims to ensure all residents, regardless of socioeconomic status, have equal access to transportation options that align with community values and priorities. By developing strategic recommendations to operationalize the newly updated transportation plan, Salt Lake City will create a more accessible, sustainable, and inclusive transportation network that enhances mobility opportunities for all residents, particularly those in historically underserved communities.

The Los Angeles County Department of Health Services (DHS) collaborates with FUSE to address racism as a public health crisis through its Equity, Diversity, Inclusion, and Antiracism (EDIA) Initiative. FUSE Executive Fellow Alvaro D. Cubides will lead a comprehensive system-wide EDIA capacity-building program for all 30,000 DHS workforce members to eliminate healthcare disparities based on race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. By April 2025, Cubides will conduct a landscape analysis, design and implement a strategic training curriculum, engage stakeholders, and establish an evaluation process, contributing to the DHS’s goal of embedding EDIA principles for more equitable health outcomes across Los Angeles County.

To create high-quality jobs for residents, the Economic Development Agency (EDA) in Riverside County, California, partnered with the Center for Social Innovation at the University of California, Riverside to promote Opportunity Zones, economically distressed communities that can potentially benefit from federal tax incentives. FUSE Executive Fellow Stacy Cumberbatch developed an Opportunity Zone strategy for the county and laid the foundation for an ecosystem that will enable investments aimed at serving the residents of these struggling communities.

Atlanta is advancing innovative housing solutions to address significant disparities in homeownership rates, with Black families experiencing a 50% lower homeownership rate compared to white families due to historical barriers and past practices. This project focuses on developing and institutionalizing multifamily homeownership programs and down payment assistance initiatives for underserved communities. Through comprehensive stakeholder engagement, actionable strategies, and cross-sector partnerships, Atlanta aims to create sustainable housing solutions that empower historically disadvantaged residents, increase access to housing, and enhance the city’s overall livability.

The Unified Government of Wyandotte County and Kansas City, Kansas (UG) is partnering with FUSE to address climate risks and develop a resilience plan for Kansas City, Kansas (KCK). They aim to increase climate resilience, promote environmental justice, and protect citizens and the built environment. FUSE Executive Fellow Caroline de Filippis will personalize climate risk assessments, research successful program models, and assist in finalizing a climate resilience action plan while acting as a liaison during program implementation.

The Los Angeles County Development Authority is working to pivot its programs to address urgent and emerging needs for vulnerable populations, many of whom are experiencing greater challenges due to the COVID-19 pandemic. FUSE executive fellow Kishani De Silva is helping LACDA transition, scale, and sustain ongoing projects and initiatives in a COVID-19 context, while addressing additional needs that arise due to the pandemic. Read more

In King County, the pandemic introduced new disparities into an already fragmented homelessness response system. Many people experiencing homelessness in King County have split into two camps: one where resources and services are now relatively rich and one which pulls residents into more extreme circumstances. To support operating a synchronized, regional, and culturally competent continuum of care, King County will partner with FUSE Corps for one year to support revamping the county’s services system into one that is responsive to the needs of all residents experiencing homelessness.

The Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) in New York City is undertaking ambitious initiatives to achieve carbon neutrality by 2050 and divert all waste from landfills by 2030. DEP is exploring renewable energy and resource recovery projects to realize these goals, focusing on the co-digestion of wastewater and food waste and harnessing thermal energy from its wastewater collection system. Partnering with FUSE, the city aims to leverage the expertise of FUSE Executive Fellow Mario De la Ossa to establish relationships, analyze the business case, and design implementation plans, ensuring the success of these innovative projects by April 2025.

The San José residential displacement crisis is disproportionately affecting low-income Black, Asian, and Latino residents from historically marginalized neighborhoods. The City is committed to producing policies and funding priorities to help alleviate the problem in both the short and long term. The FUSE Executive Fellow will advocate for, develop, and implement anti-displacement and displaced tenant preferences to ensure fair and equitable affordable housing opportunities for all San José residents.

New Orleans is working to reduce its carbon footprint by finding efficient and cost-effective ways to reduce its energy load, starting with its Sewerage and Water Board, which is one of the largest consumers of energy in the region. FUSE Executive Fellow Priya Dey-Sarkar helped the city identify opportunities for improvement and develop business plans for new strategic initiatives. Read more

The Mile High City is growing quickly, creating an urgent need for enhanced transportation plans. FUSE Executive Fellow Chris Dishno implemented a cohesive strategy that accounted for the different modes of transit for 300,000 commuters every day. Read more

Long Beach is working to ensure that its elderly residents, especially those who live below the poverty line, will have access to the services they need. FUSE Executive Fellow Karen Doolittle helped improve the quality of life for senior residents of Long Beach by designing a coordinated system of health and social services. Read more

The Los Angeles Housing and Community Investment Department (HCID) develops and preserves affordable housing, neighborhood investments, and social services for low- and moderate-income families. FUSE Executive Fellow Sean Doss is helping HCID improve its assets management and operations to better serve the community. Read more

In San Francisco, one of America’s most expensive cities to live, there is an urgent need to make affordable housing more available to city residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Kimberly helped amplify awareness of the city’s efforts to increase affordable housing, and helped connect more residents to available resources. Read more

The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting (BSL), a longtime leader in innovation, is spearheading a project to bridge the digital divide in underserved areas, mainly focusing on Crenshaw Boulevard. With funding from the American Rescue Plan, BSL aims to install shared-access, fiber-optic-capable infrastructure on 200,000 street light poles, providing free public Wi-Fi and enhancing smart-city services. Collaborating with FUSE, the BSL is enlisting FUSE Executive Fellow Lawrence Ebo to conduct research, engage stakeholders, and develop a strategic plan, ensuring equitable connectivity and affordability throughout Los Angeles by April 2025.

The Minneapolis Department of Public Works is preparing for advances in mobility and working to ensure that all residents, especially those in traditionally underserved communities, will benefit. Through education, representation, and the development of five pilot projects, FUSE Executive Fellow Danielle Elkins helped establish the city as a leader in new mobility technology, laying the foundation for a modern transportation system in Minneapolis that better serves the mobility needs of all residents. Read more

Austin is launching a bold new public transit investment called “Project Connect” that will reduce traffic, accelerate travel, and decrease the cost of transportation throughout the city and its surrounding communities. Such efforts often increase the cost of real estate along transit corridors, which can have the unintended consequence of displacing residents and businesses that have been long standing fixtures within communities. FUSE will work with the Housing and Planning Department on dispersing $300M for anti-displacement efforts, with a focus on preventing Black and Hispanic residents from being priced out of their neighborhoods.

The City of Jacksonville, FL, is working to address the growing threat and disparate impacts of climate change that inequitably threaten residents’ health and well-being by using nature-based solutions like trees to help lessen Urban Heat Island (UHI) effects. FUSE Executive Fellow Valerie Feinberg will partner with the City to design and implement ordinances, policies, and strategic plans that will increase urban forestry solutions that decrease UHI effects, thereby creating a more livable, sustainable, and resilient city, especially for historically disinvested communities and vulnerable residents.

To increase access to affordable housing, San Jose is seeking to evaluate the success of its Rent Stabilization Program and its impact on residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Lorie Fiber is partnering with the city to develop a forward-looking, data-driven strategic plan that includes an evaluation framework and measurable outcomes.

Communities of color in Atlanta are experiencing a dual health pandemic, including both Covid-19 and HIV/AIDS. In Atlanta, 1 in 50 residents is HIV positive, and 65% of whom are Black. FUSE will develop, implement, and expand partnerships with public health stakeholders to prevent these two viruses from spreading further and to support the healthcare needs of those who have been infected. FUSE will work with the Dekalb and Fulton County Boards of Health, and the public hospital systems across metro-Atlanta to examine systemic inequities and expand access to PrEP (Pre-Exposure Prophylaxis), a highly effective, preventative treatment for non-infected, high-risk populations to halt the further spread of HIV.

LA County is taking critical steps to create an effective and scalable model for resentencing indigent defense clients, assisting in remedying the over-incarceration that has gone on in the State for decades. The Los Angeles County Bar Association (IDP) will partner with a FUSE Executive Fellow Erin K Flood to implement the Public Defense Pilot Program, a specialized resentencing unit within the agency, designing a collaborative approach to resentencing case management.

The community in Northern Cleveland is addressing the lack of equitable access to green space, particularly for BIPOC residents, by developing the North Shore Master Plan. A key component of this plan is the North Coast Connector. This land bridge will provide safe and convenient access to the shore from Downtown Cleveland, promoting equity, climate resilience, and economic inclusion. FUSE Executive Fellow Linda Frazier will manage the North Coast Connector project, build relationships with stakeholders, oversee its development, and establish a team and processes for its continuation beyond the Fellowship year.

The Los Angeles Bureau of Street Lighting is adding new technologies — wifi, USB charging stations, security cameras, and solar panels — to street lights to increase services for residents, further improve street safety, and potentially raise revenue. Supporting this work, FUSE Executive Fellow Angelica Frias formulated a five-year strategic plan for these technologies, establishing BSL as a leader in the development of Smart City L.A., and is working to set the strategies in motion.

Although Washington D.C.’s rent control laws are in place to preserve affordable housing in the district, existing systems do not allow for full transparency regarding compliance with those laws. As a result, the system fails to protect the city’s economically vulnerable residents. The pandemic and economic crisis caused by Covid-19 has exasperated the critical need to monitor rental costs for residents hit hard by the economic downturn. FUSE will increase the transparency and accessibility of its rental property information and connect more low-income  residents to affordable housing options.

To improve residents’ access to healthcare services, Long Beach is working to streamline systems by creating an integrated data-management platform that works across departments. FUSE Executive Fellow Kia Gaines helped develop the system, analyzing best practices and recommending new strategies and technologies. Read more

To revitalize its Far Eastside neighborhood, Indianapolis plans to galvanize action among civic, community, and philanthropic partners to redevelop community buildings. FUSE Executive Fellow Lisa Maria Gala helped create a redevelopment strategy and guide its implementation. Read more

Brooklyn Center leaders are focused on building trust and partnerships with residents across all spectrums of diversity, ensuring they are viewed as decision-makers in co-designing city processes and policies. To support this work, the City Manager’s Office will partner with a FUSE Corps Executive Fellow for one year to design and implement a community engagement action plan focused on advancing racial equity.

Indianapolis is working to create a park system that brings improved health and wellness to its residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Demetrius Glover helped the city identify funding models that benefit its public parks and those who use them. Read more

The City of Long Beach’s Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) is addressing workforce challenges in public health by implementing strategies to promote diversity, improve recruitment and retention, and build a resilient talent pipeline. This initiative aims to develop a workforce that reflects the city’s diverse population while creating pathways for underserved communities to access public health careers. By establishing partnerships with local educational institutions and implementing effective retention programs, Long Beach is working to build a more resilient health workforce that can better serve the city’s vulnerable populations.

To help justice-involved people get the social services they need while on probation, the L.A. County Probation Department is working to improve coordination and access to a complex system of re-entry resources. FUSE executive fellow Barry Goldberg helped streamline programs, processes, and communications to ensure that those on probation receive coordinated and effective care when re-entering the community. Read more

Oakland wants its Information Technology Department to become less Oakland’s Information Technology Department is developing enterprise-wide solutions to streamline operations and help the city better serve residents. FUSE executive fellow Jana Good developed a strategic technology plan for ITD that advances the priorities of the city, while leveraging common technology platforms to ensure holistic, integrated, and extensible solutions. 

Kansas City is committed to expanding the economic prosperity enjoyed by its downtown to neighborhoods that have yet to experience this revival. To meet this goal, the Office of the Mayor is partnering with FUSE Executive Fellow LaDonna Gooden to collaboratively create a new strategic plan for the city that supports innovation and entrepreneurship, broadens economic prosperity, and strengthens all of its communities.

In Los Angeles County, more than 500,000 people will be looking to re-enter the workforce thanks to a recent law that reduced certain drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors. Casswell developed a coordinated strategy and process for delivery of services specifically to the re-entry population to reduce the likelihood of recidivism, and helped those with high barriers to employment gain and sustain employment. Read more

As climate change progresses, the City of Atlanta has developed multiple plans to mitigate climate change, build resilience, promote energy sustainability and efficiency, and prioritize equity. The FUSE Executive Fellow will synthesize these efforts into a comprehensive strategy, advance the Clean Energy Advisory Board’s decisions, and ensure Atlanta’s residents most vulnerable to climate change can access support to improve their energy security.

The City of Albuquerque, NM, has identified city-wide composting as one strategic plan component to increase its climate resilience and benefit historically marginalized communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Matt Gretton will design a public-private composting program that reduces the City’s carbon footprint while providing economic and environmental benefits to those communities most vulnerable to climate change.

The City of San Jose, committed to be a Smart City, has set forth a mission to be a global leader in civic innovation. Keshav took the leadership role in the execution efforts of the citywide Internet of Things (IoT) strategy that delivered innovative IoT capabilities to agencies within San Jose, including the Department of Transportation, Public Works, Emergency Services and various law enforcement agencies. Read more

Seattle is implementing an innovative program to prevent displacement and preserve community diversity by helping tenants become homeowners in the properties where they currently live. As housing prices continue to rise rapidly in Seattle, the Home Ownership as Preservation (HOP) initiative will assist tenants in purchasing their rental units individually or collectively as cooperatives, with particular focus on residents from diverse backgrounds at heightened displacement risk. This strategy aims to increase housing security, stability, and autonomy for vulnerable residents while maintaining the cultural and socio-economic diversity that makes Seattle’s neighborhoods vibrant and distinctive.

In collaboration with FUSE, the City of Los Angeles is undertaking a project to update the fee schedule of the Urban Forestry Division (UFD) to accurately reflect the value of its services and the impact of trees on residents’ well-being. Managing the largest municipal urban forest in the nation, the UFD faces an outdated fee structure that fails to consider the actual costs of services and the environmental impact of tree removal. FUSE Executive Fellow Sara Hammes will lead the effort to assess costs, engage stakeholders, and propose a new fee schedule by April 2025, aligning it with the City’s priorities, including affordable housing and a thriving urban forest.

Los Angeles is working to embed equity into government operations and policies, including setting up a Civil and Human Rights Department, which is charged with addressing the long-standing discrimination that impacts historically underserved and minority communities in Los Angeles. 

Hate crimes are disproportionately focused on LGBTQ+ individuals and residents of color. FUSE will work with the Civil and Human Rights Department, the Police Department, and other departments across the city to enact programs that directly reduce hate crimes and increase public safety for potentially vulnerable populations.

Long Beach devised a 10-year strategic plan to advance economic equity among its diverse communities. Daniel Han built on the city’s work by helping provide access to inclusive capital to minority- and women-owned small businesses in low-income communities. Read more

The San Jose Public Library has been working to facilitate learning beyond the classroom for children of low-income families. FUSE executive fellow Lauren Hancock helped further these endeavors by overseeing relevant programs, expanding the network of outside educational providers, and establishing quality standards. Read more

Cleveland is working on a business development program to help small business owners on its east side thrive. FUSE executive fellow Ája Hardy helped create the program and identify new economic opportunities in these communities. Read more

Atlanta seeks to create a network of support programs for small businesses owned by Black and Brown entrepreneurs, enabling them to thrive and narrowing racial wealth inequality in the city. These businesses and communities have been particularly hard-hit by the effects of the Covid pandemic. FUSE will design and implement targeted support initiatives for minority-owned small businesses and help advance the city’s overall economic recovery plans.

The New York City Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) is partnering with FUSE to enhance customer communications by developing and implementing a sophisticated Customer Relationship Management (CRM) system. This project, led by FUSE Executive Fellow Mary Austin Harrelson, aims to streamline communication processes for the Bureau of Customer Services, managing over 835,000 accounts and generating $4 billion in annual revenue. The fellow will navigate DEP’s complexities, collaborate with stakeholders, and oversee the CRM’s integration, training, and implementation, ultimately strengthening trust in local government and improving operational efficiency.

Nashville is prioritizing strategies like afterschool programs, summer enrichment, and extended learning initiatives to combat the challenge of learning loss that has been exacerbated by the Covid-19 pandemic. To support this work, the Mayor’s Office will partner witha FUSE Executive Fellow for one year to build internal capacity and leverage public-private partnerships and resources to implement, scale, and pilot high-quality afterschool educational opportunities and early childhood education options for youth from every neighborhood in the city.

The City of Boston aims to narrow the wealth gap by expanding access to housing and homeownership for low- and moderate-income members of historically marginalized communities. Building on inclusivity initiatives in the Mayor’s Office of Housing, FUSE Executive Fellow Erika Haskins will collaboratively select and advance 2-3 priority housing projects through stakeholder engagement, strategic planning, and targeted implementation. The work centers on addressing the lasting impacts of past housing policies while incorporating principles of equal opportunity into decisions about city-owned properties. By creating sustainable systems and tools for long-term impact, this initiative will provide more Bostonians with pathways to housing stability and wealth creation, regardless of background.

As of summer 2021, Harris County has managed over 381,000 cases and nearly 6,000 deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic and it remains at its highest threat level. Despite these challenges, the County, in partnership with the City of Houston, is administering up to 42,000 vaccines a week, prioritizing equity in distribution and outreach. Now, it is looking to sustain and enhance its COVID-19 response operations over the long term to reach herd immunity and commence reopening. The County will partner with FUSE to implement a dynamic strategy to improve its pandemic response efforts, including advancing personal preventive measures and implementing effective vaccine distribution and community outreach strategies, including raising awareness of COVID-19 initiatives in critical communities. FUSE will liaise between departments, coordinating technical operations and community outreach and utilizing data to drive decision-making and policy.

Los Angeles County is empowering adolescents to take greater control over their healthcare by collaborating with its Youth Advisory Council to address service gaps and barriers that disproportionately affect marginalized youth. FUSE Executive Fellow Sheronda Helton will support a comprehensive needs assessment and help develop a five-year plan focused on expanding equitable access to youth-friendly healthcare, including mental health resources. This initiative will provide a sustainable framework to meet the evolving health needs of the County’s diverse youth population, ensuring all young people can navigate the healthcare system effectively.

The Juvenile Services Division (JSD) of the Los Angeles County Probation Department is working to support the well-being, safety, and development of justice-involved youths, whether they are in probation facilities or the community. FUSE executive fellow Jessica Herbert helped develop JSD’s mission statement and guiding principles. She then led project teams through strategic planning to ensure that youth engagement aligns with JSD’s mission to support youths and their families. Read more

Recent gains in broadband adoption have narrowed the “digital divide” in Los Angeles. Still, public investment will be critical to ensure that these gains are sustained and that underserved communities are “future-proofed” for the evolution of connectivity. As numerous public, private, and non-profit entities are poised to bring new “last mile” connectivity opportunities to underserved communities in the coming years, the City is working to construct permanent, publicly-owned “middle and last-middle” broadband infrastructure to support these new investments. FUSE Executive Fellow Angelica Hernandez will work with the City to build its organizational capacity to carry out a cross-agency business plan to responsibly and sustainably develop and manage this public infrastructure for the benefit of these communities and the City.

The COVID-19 pandemic threw everyday life into a state of upheaval, with lockdowns, social distancing guidelines, travel bans, and digital work becoming a new norm. The City of Oakland responded swiftly to meet the most urgent needs of residents and businesses, launching several innovative programs to maintain public health while also enabling public spaces to be used for business and safe gatherings. Nearly a year after their initial launch, FUSE will partner with Oakland to reimagine these right-of-way initiatives, moving them from emergency response measures to platforms that spur equitable recovery and support community cohesion post-pandemic. FUSE will manage and streamline these initiatives through a community-focused program that not only increases the number of residents, businesses, and schools participating, but also encourages NGOs, nonprofits, and community-based organizations to utilize the programs for service delivery.

Los Angeles County recently created an Alternatives to Incarceration Initiative that outlined 26 new recommendations for scaling diversion and care programs that will minimize the number of individuals who enter the jail system. Incarceration should only be a last report, particularly given the enormous racial disparities endemic throughout the criminal justice system. FUSE will work with community members and County agencies to implement these recommendations and create regional pilot programs that can be replicated in other communities nationwide.

The Los Angeles County Department of Public Health (DPH) is working to slow the spread of the COVID-19 infection, while also preparing to prevent future pandemic-related health crises in the area. To support this work, DPH is partnering with FUSE Executive Fellow Jennifer Hobart to work with its Division of Communicable Disease Control and Prevention in order to develop a comprehensive strategic plan that transitions current surveillance programs into a unified Reportable Disease Surveillance system.

Pittsburgh is working to enhance its city-owned facilities. Chris designed and launched a strategic plan to improve the 300-plus city-owned buildings that was cost-efficient, safe, and focused on service delivery. Read more

The City of Durham only has eleven years left in its current waste management contract. In prioritizing investment in green infrastructure, the city can reimagine its approach to this issue and transform it into a more equitable, sustainable system. FUSE Executive Fellow Kathleen Hunt will help the City Manager’s Office explore a potential model for the future of waste reduction and the circular economy (and the creation of an Ecopark), centering racial equity and community input in its design and implementation.

The Travis County Jail is one of the largest mental health providers in the county, with around 34% of the jail’s roughly 1,434 inmates having a mental health designation. The County has delivered and unveiled public safety reforms that emphasize making their communities safer by investing in support services outside of the carceral system, including expanding diversion eligibility. FUSE will partner with Travis County to launch the Travis Center, a fully functioning mental health diversion center that provides community-based preventive services to help people avoid interaction with the criminal legal system. FUSE will primarily work to implement a sustainability plan for the proposed center, connecting directly with community members to ensure their needs are prioritized in service delivery and forming a roadmap to establish fiscal longevity. FUSE will play an integral role in ensuring the Center supports those experiencing homelessness and addresses residents’ unmet mental health and substance-use disorders before they ever interact with law enforcement.

The City of Los Angeles’ Bureau of Street Services (StreetsLA) is collaborating with FUSE on a high-impact initiative to strengthen the maintenance, safety, and long-term sustainability of the nation’s largest municipal street network, which includes more than 23,000 lane miles of streets, 660,00 street trees, and 800 miles of alleys. The project focuses on how the City regulates and manages public right-of-way activity that shapes infrastructure delivery across Los Angeles. Working in close partnership with StreetsLA’s Investigation and Enforcement Division, executive leadership, the Board of Public Works, City Council, and numerous external stakeholders, the effort includes modernizing over 20,000 annual permits governing the use of City streets and infrastructure, improving enforcement of unpermitted or unsafe activity, and advancing fair, consistent compliance citywide. The initiative advances long-term financial sustainability through updated cost-recovery policies and new revenue sources that reduce reliance on the General Fund. By addressing resource imbalances that have disproportionately affected underserved communities, the project supports cleaner, safer, and more equitable neighborhoods for all Angelenos.

San Francisco’s economy is booming, but there are opportunity disparities among gender identity, race, ethnicity, immigration status, and other socio-economic indicators. Sami helped the city identify barriers to advancing equity and the resources needed to overcome those barriers. Read more

Baltimore City is expanding homeownership opportunities as a pathway to economic stability and generational wealth, with a particular focus on residents with lower incomes and historically underserved communities. FUSE Executive Fellow Dalmar James, Jr. will develop a strategic framework to unify and expand homeownership coaching resources across the city. This initiative aims to address historical housing challenges while creating a comprehensive support system for prospective homebuyers. By empowering residents with the knowledge and resources needed to achieve sustainable homeownership, Baltimore seeks to foster community stability and economic resilience for future generations.

To spark and sustain economic opportunity in low-income and underdeveloped neighborhoods, including designated Opportunity Zones, Wichita saw a need to work with a variety of stakeholders and community groups. FUSE executive fellow Angeline Johnson helped the city forge deeper partnerships with communities, improving their collective efforts to increase the vitality and quality of life for businesses and residents.

Youth interactions with the justice system cause life-long negative outcomes. The Los Angeles County government, steered by the Youth Justice Advisory Group (YJAG) and Alternatives to Incarceration Office (ATI), is working to transform from a punitive system to a youth development system that prioritizes trauma-responsive and community-based approaches to youth in crisis through the creation of a new Department of Youth Development (DYD). FUSE Executive Fellow Jody S. Johnson, Esq. will assist DYD in developing a legislative framework and action plan to radically reform the County’s approach to youth justice.

Mayor Andre Dickens of Atlanta aims to address deep-seated issues of racial segregation and economic disparity by making the city the best place in the country to raise a child. Partnering with FUSE, the City has established the Office of the Chief Policy Officer to tackle longstanding equity challenges. Starting in April 2024, FUSE Executive Fellow Shannon Jolly will lead a project to cultivate stakeholder relationships, develop an urban resilience framework, and establish values-driven partnerships to create a more equitable, systematic, and impactful approach to urban resilience by April 2025.

In spring 2021, city leaders facilitated the first Summit to Address Unsheltered Homelessness in Austin determined that a financial investment of $515M, from both the private and public sectors, would be required to rehouse 3000 people experiencing homelessness and add 200 staff to culturally-reflective providers. To support this work, Austin will partner with FUSE Corps to develop a sustainable funding and investment plan for addressing unsheltered homelessness in the city.

New Orleans’ long-term future depends on the City’s ability to invest in water and flood management systems. To expand this critical infrastructure, the Sewerage and Water Board must be able to collect revenue for its services. FUSE Executive Fellow Carolyn P. Jones will build the Board’s ability to sustainably and equitably collect revenue by analyzing the complex dynamics surrounding the issue and developing and implementing a strategic revenue plan.

Milwaukee’s overall homeownership rate has dropped by nearly 14% over the last decade, with the local gap between Black and white homeownership being higher than almost all of the other 100 largest cities in the country. The connection between housing stability and health outcomes has never been more evident than during the Covid-19 crisis. FUSE will work with the Department of Development to create or improve 10,000 units of affordable housing throughout the city, focusing on increasing Black homeownership, to maintain housing resilience in the face of future economic downturns.

Like other prosperous American counties, greater King County currently finds itself in the position of possessing both enormous amounts of wealth and staggering levels of homelessness. And while King County has progressed in addressing homelessness, to solve the county’s immense challenge, it needs a clear and rational approach to understanding the issue. To support this work, King County will partner with FUSE Corps for one year to review how stakeholders throughout the region are managing housing growth and allocating resources, building data-driven regional solutions for addressing the county’s housing crisis.

In spring 2021, city leaders facilitated the first Summit to Address Unsheltered Homelessness in Austin. The Summit determined that improving homelessness service provider capacity and responsiveness needs to be a top priority in order to effectively and significantly reduce unsheltered homelessness in the city. Austin will partner with FUSE Corps to lead meaningful organizational capacity building within a portfolio of homelessness service providers, ensuring the outreach efforts of providers are culturally responsive and informed by those with actual lived experience of homelessness.

To create high-quality jobs for residents, San Bernardino County is working to promote its Opportunity Zones, economically distressed communities that can potentially benefit from federal tax incentives aimed at encouraging investment and economic development. FUSE executive fellow Gil Keinan helped create a county-wide strategy and local toolkit to promote sustainable, equitable, and inclusive investments in Opportunity Zone communities.

Columbus is enhancing public safety by integrating advanced sensor technologies, such as real-time cameras and noise detectors while prioritizing transparency and community trust. FUSE Executive Fellow Stephen Kelch will develop a data-driven framework for selecting and siting these technologies, benchmark best practices from other cities, and establish a public safety advisory committee to guide decision-making. This initiative will equip Columbus with sustainable tools to improve neighborhood safety through innovative technology, aligned with public input and trust-building efforts.

Since the start of the pandemic, Los Angeles has reported the highest number of business closures in the nation, with over 7,500 of those closures expected to be permanent. To enable small businesses’ survival, the City is working to adapt programs and resources provided through its BusinessSource Centers. FUSE will partner with the City to build the BusinessSource Centers’ capacity to supply high-value technical and programmatic resources to small business owners, with a focus on women and people of color. FUSE will work directly with the small business community to capture critical needs and implement process improvements in the centers through an equity lens.

To reduce recidivism, Washington D.C.’s Department of Behavioral Health (DBH) is working to provide a stronger continuum of services for justice-involved individuals, from pre-arrest through post-incarceration. FUSE executive fellow C. Brent Kiser helped develop, improve, and standardize operations throughout the organization and with other agencies, ultimately improving services for justice-involved individuals. Read more

The Los Angeles Department of Water and Power recognizes that the health and economic crises spurred by the COVID-19 pandemic have impacted low-income and minority Angelenos disproportionately, increasing the number of residents who cannot afford their utilities. To support an equitable recovery from the pandemic, LADWP is partnering with FUSE Executive Fellow Joseph Koh to assess current services and support the expansion of low-income utility assistance programs.

The Los Angeles County Department of Workforce Development, Aging and Community Services is working to connect its most vulnerable populations with high-quality jobs and careers. FUSE Executive Fellow Patrick Koppula is assisting with these efforts, helping people stranded from the labor market find middle-wage jobs, while also helping businesses develop jobs for these workers. Read more

The City of San José, CA, is working towards a “Climate Smart San José” to help mitigate the effects of climate change that affect the ecosystems, health, livelihoods, and security of its residents. FUSE Executive Fellow Laksmi Lagares will help create an inter-agency strategy to identify and apply for various financial and technical resources from government entities, local revenue, and private philanthropy sources to advance local climate adaptation and mitigation efforts.

With impending retirement for a significant number of its more than 1,500 employees, the Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) sought to create a development plan that would foster creative, forward-looking leaders. FUSE Executive Fellow Julie Lamba launched a novel all-staff leadership program and is continuing to help LAPL with its plans for leadership and talent, establishing sustainable programs that will prepare leaders for the challenges of today and tomorrow. Read more

Demand is growing for services from the Los Angeles Bureau of Engineering. At the same time, a quarter of its employees are nearing retirement. To ensure an effective knowledge transfer of ongoing projects, the bureau is looking to update its infrastructure for storing and accessing data. To help create a shared library of digital content, FUSE Executive Fellow Nancy Lambert is evaluating and recommending solutions, helping the city maximize its resources and better serve residents.

In collaboration with FUSE, the City of Los Angeles is tackling the escalating urban heat crisis through the ExtremeHeat Toolkit. Led by StreetsLA, the project prioritizes marginalized neighborhoods, employing a comprehensive cost-benefit analysis of cooling strategies like trees and shade structures to rectify historical infrastructure imbalances. With an overarching goal of environmental justice,FUSE Executive Fellow Trace Lane will deliver a detailed economic study and tailored recommendations by April 2025, aiming to optimize cooling interventions and mitigate the impacts of urban heat islands in diverse urban settings.

The City of Kansas City, Missouri has received and distributed roughly half of the $195M in local federal relief from the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The Mayor’s Office will partner with a FUSE Executive Fellow for one year to steward the distribution of KC’s second tranche of ARPA funds, launching and scaling programs that will accelerate recovery from the Covid-19 pandemic and reduce disparities in outcomes for the Black KC residents hit hardest by the pandemic.

The L.A. County Department of Health Services is working to improve access to the safety net of services it offers to county residents, many of whom are low-income. Using strategic marketing and branding, FUSE executive fellow Michelle LeBlanc helped the department communicate more effectively with current and prospective patients about the scope and quality of its offerings. Read more

The Covid-19 pandemic highlighted how digital deserts throughout Birmingham prevented many residents from reaching telehealth options, students from completing the school year, others from joining the workforce after layoffs, and some from accessing critical city and social services. To combat this digital divide, FUSE will partner with Birmingham to launch a comprehensive strategy for city-wide broadband expansion and digital inclusion.

The Covid-19 pandemic exposed difficulties that patients in the Los Angeles County – Department of Health Services system face in accessing specialty medical care, with wait times to see a specialist averaging around 89 days. To address these delays and decompress backlogs for potentially lifesaving radiology tests, FUSE will work to initiate an enterprise-wide system of care for radiology in the County.

Los Angeles has enacted a $15 per hour minimum wage by 2020 to help 600,000 Angelenos rise out of poverty. Mark helped the city avoid wage theft by employers or denial of wages owed to employees, and he devised a plan to make sure businesses stuck to the new law. Read more

Nearly 70 percent of Birmingham residents live in neighborhoods that lack adequate access to quality, affordable fresh foods. The City of Birmingham is committed to changing this status quo, and seeks to build a food economy that is powered by the community. To support this work, FUSE will partner with Birmingham to facilitate community-driven hyper-local programs and policies that encourage food resilience across all neighborhoods in the city, addressing issues of accessibility and affordability in all parts of the food supply chain.

Kansas City, MO, is working to support human rights due diligence for the upcoming 2026 FIFA Men’s World Cup tournament by conducting stakeholder engagement as the city protects civil, political, social, economic, and cultural rights during the tournament. FUSE Executive Fellow Adam Lewis will help support the new Human Rights Advisory Council to assess the human rights challenges and opportunities that may arise from hosting the tournament and develop measures to prevent these issues from occurring.

The City of Durham is converting over 1,000 city-owned vacant parcels into affordable residential homes to address the significant housing cost increases that have exacerbated wealth disparities. This initiative will identify suitable lots, engage nonprofit developers, and provide up to $100,000 per lot for construction costs. By creating pathways to affordable homeownership, Durham aims to help families, particularly in historically underserved communities, build intergenerational wealth and secure their future in the growing city.

The LA County Public Defender’s Office proposed the Public Defense Pilot Program to develop a global, collaborative approach to resentencing indigent defense clients, supporting the successful reentry of resentenced and released LA County individuals back into their communities. The LA County Public Defender’s Office will partner with FUSE Executive Fellow Lysa Liggins to implement a collaborative approach to resentencing, explicitly improving the resentencing referral and reentry relief services systems in the Public Defender’s purview.

Los Angeles is preparing for the day when autonomous vehicle technology redefines the world of automobiles and mobility at large. FUSE Executive Fellow Michael Lim developed a comprehensive business plan for the city that addresses the increasingly important need for investment in autonomous vehicles and the infrastructure to support them.

The Los Angeles Department of Transportation is in the midst of a major workforce change. Andrea created a robust leadership training academy that prepared the department’s managers to embrace new evolutions in transportation technologies. Read more

There are currently 725,000 people who experience food insecurity in Houston, with 500,000 of those individuals living in federally-designated “food deserts,” where the closest supermarket is over a mile away. FUSE will help the city invest in its food ecosystem, not only to combat hunger and food insecurity in historically underserved communities of color, but also to provide new pathways to employment in these neighborhoods. FUSE will implement a comprehensive food access plan that bolsters food-related businesses and employment opportunities.

The Austin Public Health Department recently created a Homeless Services Division, which is working to strengthen response activities for individuals who are experiencing homelessness as a result of, or concurrent with, behavioral and mental health crises. Homelessness  disproportionately affects communities of color and, as a result, Black and Hispanic individuals are often not able to access the care needed for their behavioral and mental health issues. Combined with Covid-19, this population has been particularly challenging to support and prevent from contracting the virus and receiving adequate medical care. FUSE will work across all city departments that interact with the homeless population to build a systematic response to behavioral and mental health crises, ensuring that staff are equipped to provide these services, particularly during the current health crisis.  

The Sewerage and Water Board of New Orleans (SWBNO) aims to reduce energy consumption and enhance operational efficiency. FUSE Executive Fellow Lana Lovick will analyze energy usage, identify energy reduction opportunities, and lead energy efficiency projects, ultimately transforming SWBNO into a more sustainable and cost-effective agency that better serves the community.

The City of Durham, North Carolina, is dedicated to reducing climate change impacts through ambitious policy and equitable strategic planning. FUSE Executive Fellow Michael MacHarg will partner with FUSE to help create and implement a strategic plan to equitably electrify the fleet and residents’ vehicles, drastically reducing carbon emissions and improving environmental justice for historically disinvested communities.

To help address a growing economic divide between Black and white residents, Milwaukee is working to provide better access to workforce development opportunities and job prospects. FUSE will work with the local workforce development board, Employ Milwaukee, to launch new digital and virtual reality-based training programs that complement the existing services that are delivered in-person, but which are now limited due to public health restrictions. 

Washington D.C. is working to uplift its small businesses by connecting them to opportunities to help them thrive and grow. Flavian developed a plan to deploy the most successful programs and make the best use of resources. Read more

Los Angeles County is working to redesign the way patients access healthcare within the system and transform the process into one that is efficient, compassionate, and patient-centered. Eric developed a plan to elevate the patient experience. Read more

The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors (Board) has taken several steps to reduce its reliance on incarceration and to expand diversion and treatment, including very recently calling for the creation of a new Justice, Care & Opportunities Department (JCOD). The JCOD implementation team (led by the Alternative to Incarceration Office) will partner with FUSE Executive Fellow Roxanne Ferand Mayfield to plan and oversee the launch of the new department.

Kansas City is focused on reaching the goal of becoming a carbon-neutral, equity-focused, and resilient city by 2040. Buildings are one of the largest and fastest-growing sources of Kansas City’s climate emissions. To address these buildings and ensure they are powered with clean energy, Kansas City will partner with FUSE Corps to engage with community stakeholders to co-create an equity-centered Building Performance Standards Ordinance.

Washington D.C. is creating a system to inventory and manage its portfolio of real-estate assets. FUSE executive fellow Edwin McClendon helped implement the system and use it to better monetize those assets, which in turn can increase available funds for improving community services. Read more

Travis County has administered more than 861,000 doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, and data shows that nearly 30% of residents age 16 and older are partially vaccinated. Yet, health leaders warn that there are at least half a million people in the county who are still particularly vulnerable to contracting and dying from the virus. FUSE will partner with Travis County to institute a cohesive, countywide approach across providers for vaccine administration and operations long-term. FUSE will merge the current strategies of public and private providers, align resources, and amplify best practices, preparing the county for the rollout of an eventual booster vaccine campaign and, ultimately, supporting the smooth and equitable administration of this potentially life-saving vaccine.