Forging Partnerships to Improve Economic Security | FUSE

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About Us
FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to engage communities, advance racial equity, and work more effectively for everyone.
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The FUSE Model centers around a one-year full-time public service role in city or county government and includes three primary phases from start to finish.
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FUSE Executive Fellows and Alumni are experienced leaders committed to advancing equity through action-oriented partnerships with government agencies.
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FUSE is a national nonprofit dedicated to increasing the capacity of local governments to engage communities, advance racial equity, and work more effectively for everyone.
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The FUSE team and board of directors are committed to driving equitable change locally and nationally.
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The power of government. The experience of community. The impact of new ideas. Together we can build better systems
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Partner With FUSE
The FUSE Model centers around a one-year full-time public service role in city or county government and includes three primary phases from start to finish.
Executive Fellowship Program
FUSE Executive Fellows and Alumni are experienced leaders committed to advancing equity through action-oriented partnerships with government agencies.
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Thanks to the generous support and close partnerships of our funders and supporters, we have been able to deepen our impact on issues that matter the most to communities and the government agencies that serve them.
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Through strategic collaboration, these initiatives harness innovative solutions and practices to bridge gaps in healthcare access.
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Health
Expanding access to affordable health care and mental health resources to improve key indicators of community health.
Justice
Enhancing public safety and reform of criminal justice by changing policing, 911 dispatching, bail, sentencing, probation, reentry.
Education
Improving options for childcare, early education, STEM, out-of-school-time, and post-secondary enrollment and affordability.
Climate
Building new infrastructure, disaster resilience, renewable energy, green economy jobs, and plans to reduce emissions.
Housing
Addressing issues of homelessness, housing insecurity, gentrification, and the need to preserve and build more affordable housing.
Jobs
Increasing the number of living-wage jobs and preparing for the future of work through expanded job training.
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The Los Angeles County Development Authority (LACDA) is working to lift low-income residents by addressing poverty, homelessness, workforce, and small business development. To bolster this work and create new initiatives, LACDA established a Strategic Partnership Division. FUSE Executive Fellow Kishani De Silva helped establish the division, developing strategic partnerships and key collaborations focusing on advancing affordable housing and programs for vulnerable populations. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Kishani pivoted her work to address these communities’ urgent and emerging needs.

Before the pandemic, Kishani helped launch several initiatives, including a STEAM program for students, a demonstration project to fast-track the housing supply, and workforce development programs. She then pivoted to address COVID-related needs, such as adding academic assistance to the STEAM program for students struggling with remote learning and continuing the program throughout the school year as an after-school program. To help isolated seniors, Kishani implemented a health and motion program, quickly finding an app developer and getting phone donations from T-mobile. She also helped deliver an agency-wide digital health screening platform, which will assess the health of the LACDA staff before coming into the office, track COVID-related health for reports, and enable additional safeguards for staff who are considered essential workers. Kishani continues to help LACDA transition, scale, and sustain ongoing projects and initiatives in a COVID-19 context while addressing additional needs that arise due to the pandemic.

KISHANI DE SILVA has worked as a project manager for nearly 20 years, specializing in the architecture and design industries, where she managed and negotiated contracts for international firms. Following her time at Foster + Partners in London, she started her own management consultancy and completed reading for an MSc in major program management at the University of Oxford. She has an executive leadership certification from Cornell and a BArch from Woodbury University, where she was adjunct faculty and taught management, entrepreneurship, and leadership components at the graduate level. She sits on several local boards for organizations focused on equity and social and economic justice.

Kishani De Silva

2018-2019 | Los Angeles County - Development Authority

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