Advancing Community Connectivity and Public Life in North Omaha

The City of Omaha is working to strengthen community connectivity, increase social capital, and improve quality of life in historically disinvested neighborhoods through deeper resident engagement and place-based activation strategies. In partnership with 75 North Revitalization Corp. and Canopy South, the FUSE Executive Fellow will help design and implement a “public life” framework that aligns workforce development, community engagement, youth and senior activation, and neighborhood-based services. Ultimately, this work will help Omaha build stronger mixed-income communities, restore public trust, and create scalable models for equitable neighborhood revitalization that support long-term economic mobility and community well-being.

Fellowship Dates: October 26, 2026 – October 22, 2027

Salary: Executive Fellows are FUSE employees and receive an annual salary of $95,000. Fellows can also access various health, dental, and vision insurance benefits. This amount is not representative of market-rate salaries for the experienced professionals in our program but is intended as compensation for a year of public service.

ABOUT THE FUSE EXECUTIVE FELLOWSHIP

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

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

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

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

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

PROJECT BACKGROUND

Creating vibrant, connected neighborhoods requires more than physical redevelopment; it also depends on strong social infrastructure, trusted relationships, and meaningful opportunities for residents to engage with one another and with civic institutions. In mixed-income communities, increased social interaction and community activation can strengthen social capital, improve public safety, expand economic opportunity, and support long-term neighborhood stability. These investments are especially important in communities that have experienced historic disinvestment, displacement, and limited access to public amenities and economic opportunity. Without intentional strategies to foster belonging and engagement, even significant investments in housing and infrastructure may fail to achieve their full long-term impact.

In Omaha, Nebraska, North Omaha communities have experienced decades of systemic inequities stemming from redlining, disinvestment, and the construction of Highway 75, which displaced thousands of residents and businesses while physically dividing neighborhoods. Today, organizations such as 75 North Revitalization Corp. and Canopy South are leading invaluable efforts to develop mixed-income communities and expand access to quality housing, workforce pathways, and community resources. While these investments have transformed the built environment, community leaders recognize the need to strengthen the “public life” of these neighborhoods by increasing resident activation, fostering intergenerational engagement, building trust in civic systems, and ensuring that residents can fully benefit from the neighborhood’s ongoing revitalization. Omaha is also confronting broader challenges in workforce development, affordable childcare, and public trust, as city leaders seek strategies to retain residents and build stronger neighborhood identity and connectivity.

The City of Omaha will partner with FUSE and place-based community organizations to strengthen community engagement and develop a scalable model for neighborhood-based public life and resident activation. Ultimately, this work will help Omaha strengthen community trust, improve neighborhood cohesion, and create a sustainable framework for equitable and connected community development.

PROJECT APPROACH

Beginning in Fall 2026, the FUSE Executive Fellow will work with the City of Omaha, 75 North Revitalization Corp., Canopy South, and additional community partners to strengthen neighborhood engagement, increase social connectivity, and support implementation of a community-centered “public life” strategy for North Omaha neighborhoods. The fellow will help align city priorities, place-based partnership goals, and resident-driven engagement efforts to strengthen neighborhood activation and improve quality-of-life outcomes for residents across generations.

The fellow will begin by conducting a comprehensive 90-day listening tour with city departments, neighborhood residents, youth and senior groups, workforce development organizations, childcare providers, local employers, housing and transportation stakeholders, and place-based community organizations. This discovery phase will include reviewing existing neighborhood plans, task force recommendations, public engagement findings, and redevelopment initiatives related to housing, workforce development, transportation, youth engagement, and community revitalization. The fellow will also assess current barriers to community participation, including transportation limitations, a lack of accessible neighborhood services, affordability challenges, and distrust stemming from prior planning processes that failed to deliver visible outcomes. Throughout this process, the fellow will maintain a strong community presence and prioritize engagement strategies that ensure residents are actively shaping project priorities and implementation recommendations. Based on these insights, the fellow will present concepts for refining the project approach for the City, 75 North, and Canopy South to approve before entering the next phase of work.

Building on the discovery process, the fellow will evaluate opportunities to strengthen and coordinate neighborhood-based programming, workforce initiatives, childcare supports, youth engagement activities, and community activation strategies. This may include assessing opportunities to repurpose or activate underutilized neighborhood spaces as community hubs that support workforce training, entrepreneurship, childcare access, recreation, and wraparound services. The fellow will research best practices from comparable cities that have successfully strengthened social infrastructure and community engagement within mixed-income communities. The fellow will also work closely with city staff and community partners to align the project with broader initiatives, including the Mayor’s “Year of the Neighbor,” Omaha’s updated comprehensive plan, affordable housing and workforce development task force recommendations, and reconnecting communities initiatives associated with Highway 75.

Using these findings, the fellow will develop and begin implementing a coordinated public life and community engagement framework designed to strengthen trust, improve resident activation, and increase connectivity across neighborhoods. This work may include designing communication and engagement strategies, developing implementation recommendations for task force priorities, identifying opportunities for cross-sector collaboration, supporting pilot activation projects, and creating strategies to strengthen workforce and childcare accessibility within neighborhood-based community development efforts. The fellow will work collaboratively with city agencies, place-based organizations, nonprofit partners, residents, and private-sector stakeholders to establish shared goals, clarify roles and responsibilities, and create systems for ongoing coordination and accountability.

By the end of the fellowship, Omaha will have a stronger framework for sustaining neighborhood engagement and community-centered development efforts beyond the project period. The fellow will deliver strategic recommendations, implementation tools, partnership frameworks, and sustainability plans that help institutionalize this work within both city government and place-based partnership structures. This effort will strengthen Omaha’s capacity to support connected, vibrant, and inclusive mixed-income communities while advancing long-term neighborhood stability, economic opportunity, and resident well-being.

The FUSE Executive Fellow will be embedded within the City of Omaha and report directly to the Project Supervisor while receiving strategic guidance from the Executive Sponsor. In addition, the fellow will maintain a formal “dotted line” relationship with 75 North Revitalization Corp. and Canopy South leadership through regular coordination meetings and collaborative planning processes to ensure the work meaningfully advances place-based partnership priorities and reflects ongoing community needs.

EXPECTED DELIVERABLES

By Fall 2027, the Executive Fellow is expected to have produced the following:

• Developed a Community Public Life and Engagement Framework – Created a strategic framework that strengthens resident engagement, social connectivity, and neighborhood activation across North Omaha mixed-income communities, aligned with city priorities and place-based partnership goals.
• Produced an Implementation and Action Plan for Community Priorities – Developed actionable recommendations and implementation strategies that advance key task force recommendations and neighborhood priorities related to workforce development, childcare access, youth engagement, community activation, and neighborhood connectivity.
• Designed a Neighborhood Activation and Communication Strategy – Established coordinated engagement and communications approaches that improve transparency, strengthen public trust, celebrate community successes, and increase resident participation in neighborhood initiatives and civic processes.
• Created a Community Hub and Partnership Development Strategy – Evaluated opportunities for activating neighborhood spaces and strengthening partnerships to support workforce pathways, wraparound services, childcare access, entrepreneurship, and intergenerational community programming.
• Produced a Long-Term Sustainability and Replication Framework – Delivered recommendations for sustaining and scaling Omaha’s public life and neighborhood engagement model across additional communities, including governance structures, partnership models, and long-term implementation considerations.

KEY STAKEHOLDERS

• Executive Sponsor – Keith Station, Deputy Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office
• Project Supervisor – Jacquelyn Morrison, Senior Deputy Chief of Staff, Mayor’s Office
• Place-Based Partnership Liaison: Sharlon Rogers, President & CEO, 75 North Revitalization Corp., and César Garcia, Executive Director, Canopy South

QUALIFICATIONS

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

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