The County of Los Angeles has declared a state of emergency regarding homelessness, which allows it to invest additional resources into prevention and response programs. Its efforts will only be successful if it adopts anti-racist principles and focuses on reducing racial disparities for Black People Experiencing Homelessness (BPEH). The FUSE Executive Fellow will work on behalf of the Anti-Racism, Diversity and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative to collaborate across the County to develop the accountability framework necessary to track and report on progress toward reducing racial disparities in homelessness.

Fellowship Dates: October 21, 2024 – October 24, 2025

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

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

FUSE is a national nonprofit working to expand social and economic opportunities, particularly for communities that have been limited by a history of systemic and institutionalized racism. FUSE partners with local governments and communities to more effectively address pressing challenges by placing experienced professionals within city and county agencies. These FUSE Executive Fellows lead strategic projects designed to advance racial equity and accelerate systems change. Since 2012, FUSE has led over 250 projects in 40 governments across 20 states, impacting the lives of 25 million people.

When designing each fellowship project, FUSE works closely with government partners and local stakeholders to define a scope of work that will achieve substantive progress toward regional priorities. FUSE then conducts an individualized search for each project to ensure that the selected candidate has at least 15 years of professional experience, the required competencies for the role, and deep connections to the communities being served. They are data-driven and results-oriented and able to effectively manage complex projects by developing actionable roadmaps and monitoring progress to completion.

Executive Fellows are hired as FUSE employees and embedded in government agencies for at least one year of full-time work. Throughout their fellowships, they receive training, coaching, and professional support from FUSE to help achieve their project goals. FUSE Executive Fellows bring diverse perspectives and new approaches to their projects. They build strong relationships with diverse arrays of stakeholders, foster alignment within and across various layers of government, and build partnerships between governments and communities.

PROJECT CONTEXT

One in five people experiencing homelessness in the United States lives in Los Angeles County. The City and County have declared a state of emergency regarding homelessness, allowing them to leverage additional resources to help people currently or at risk of experiencing homelessness. While only 10% of Los Angeles County residents are Black, they are disproportionately pushed into homelessness. According to the Los Angeles Homelessness Service Authority, 30% of people experiencing homelessness in Los Angeles County are Black.

In 2018, the Los Angeles Homelessness Service Authority established the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness, which developed 67 recommendations to “eliminate racial disparities impacting Black people experiencing homelessness by ensuring racial equity within the homeless crisis response system.” In addition to addressing the housing market and economic inclusion factors that lead to racial disparities in homelessness, the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness agenda also aims to make the homelessness services system more inclusive and responsive to the needs of Black clients.

At the county level, the County’s Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI) Initiative is tasked with combating racism in all its forms and in doing so is responsible for collaborating with the Los Angeles County Homeless Initiative to advance the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness recommendations.

The County of Los Angeles will partner with FUSE to improve the County’s accountability measures in its efforts to reduce racial disparities in people experiencing homelessness, and ultimately make the continuum of care more responsive to Black clients. The FUSE Executive Fellow will track the needs and gaps associated with high-priority recommendations of the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness (BPEH), ensure progress toward goals across relevant departments, and report on progress. As a result of this work, the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative will have the foundation necessary to help the whole County assist people experiencing homelessness with a racial equity lens.

 

PROJECT SUMMARY

Starting in October 2024, the FUSE Executive Fellow will quickly develop relationships with a broad range of stakeholders, including Los Angeles County officials, City of Los Angeles counterparts, community organizations that work with people experiencing homelessness, and members of the public, with an emphasis on Black people experiencing homelessness or with lived experience with homelessness. The Executive Fellow will seek to understand the resources, opportunities, and aspirations these partners have for prevention and response to homelessness, and how those align with the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness agenda. In addition, the Executive Fellow will review best practices for culturally competent services in populations experiencing homelessness and communities similar to Los Angeles County.

Next, the Executive Fellow will work with the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative, in collaboration with the Homeless Initiative, to develop an accountability framework that enables them to monitor progress on the Black People Experiencing Homelessness recommendations. This includes tracking the needs and gaps associated with priority recommendations of the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Implementation Steering Committee and working with departments across the County to ensure they are implementing the recommendations and monitoring progress appropriately. This framework will allow the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative and Homeless Initiative to quickly compile and analyze up-to-date data on the status of all recommendations currently in implementation.

The Executive Fellow will work with the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative to liaise between the Homeless Initiative, Los Angeles Homelessness Service Authority, and other Los Angeles County Departments to build necessary systems and methods of collaboration, close resource gaps, and facilitate community or stakeholder meetings as needed. This may include training counterparts at other departments on their tracking and monitoring responsibilities.

In addition, the Executive Fellow will use the tracking and monitoring system to report on progress to key stakeholders and solicit their feedback. This could include briefing County leadership or facilitating meetings with Black people experiencing or who previously experienced homelessness.

If successful, the Executive Fellow’s work will sustain the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Implementation Steering Committee efforts for years to come by catalyzing coordination and inclusive practices across the County.

PROJECT DELIVERABLES

By October 2025, the Executive Fellow will have overseen the following:

• Conduct a Stakeholder Listening Tour – Develop relationships with stakeholders in Los Angeles County and City government and community-based organizations to understand the resources, constraints, perceived opportunities, potential threats, and aspirations affecting the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness agenda. Engage stakeholders on prioritized recommendations from the recent 2023 report. Conduct extensive best practices research on culturally competent and trauma-informed homelessness services and their implementation in diverse communities similar to Los Angeles County.
• Embed Tracking & Monitoring System – Collaborate across departments to help the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative track and monitor progress in implementing the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Implementation Steering Committee recommendations. Train Los Angeles County staff responsible for tracking tasks and the Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion Initiative staff that will run the system post-Fellowship. Reinforce tracking and monitoring system management and best practices through other fellowship deliverables.
• Develop Long-Term Infrastructure for the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Implementation Steering Committee – Utilize project management best practices to develop practices, relationships, and ways of doing business that advance the Black People Experiencing Homelessness Implementation Steering Committee recommendations across Los Angeles County departments and between the City and County.
• Report on Progress – Report progress to key stakeholders of the Ad Hoc Committee on Black People Experiencing Homelessness and gather feedback from them.
• Cultivate relationships across stakeholders – Cultivate and maintain relationships across various workgroups, including but not limited to, the Black People Experiencing Homelessness, Latinx Taskforce, and American Indian/Alaska Native workgroups centering targeted strategies towards the universal goal of ending homelessness for all.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Executive Sponsor – D’Artagnan Scorza, Ph.D., Executive Director, Racial Equity; Chief Executive Office
• Project Supervisor – Jonathan Nomachi, Principal Analyst; Chief Executive Office

   

QUALIFICATIONS

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

Compensation: 80,000