Working to Alleviate Poverty | 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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One in four residents of Philadelphia lives below the poverty line, a condition that can adversely affect their health, education and employment prospects, physical safety, and more. Recognizing the urgency of this problem, the Mayor’s Office of Policy engaged FUSE Executive Fellow Natalie Barndt to lead a review of existing anti-poverty strategies and make recommendations for further progress.

Natalie led detailed analyses of 2018 poverty data and convened groups of relevant city employees to discuss existing and potential new initiatives. To inform these discussions, she arranged for a delegation of city leaders to meet with staff at the New York City Mayor’s Office for Economic Opportunity to learn more about its poverty alleviation efforts. Drawing from this and other research, Natalie made several targeted recommendations for reducing the poverty rate in the short term. As a result of her work, the Mayor’s Office has a set of strategic alternatives aimed at lifting people out of poverty and into a more economically stable future.

NATALIE BARNDT has more than two decades of experience spanning finance, mergers and acquisitions, organizational development, and management consulting in both the corporate and nonprofit sectors. She has lived and worked on four continents. While working for a pharmaceutical company, Natalie led a business development team in acquiring new products and companies. More recently, she led the launch of a global anti-poverty organization into East Africa. Natalie holds an M.A. in organizational dynamics from the University of Pennsylvania and a B.S. from the University of Delaware, and she serves on several nonprofit boards in Philadelphia.

2018-2019 | City of Philadelphia - Mayor's Office of Policy

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