From Learning to Leadership: What USAID Made Possible

From USAID to the Ballot Box

Three former USAID officers. Three Maryland races. One mission: keep serving. In this episode of Global Development Interrupted, host Leah Petit sits down with Alicia Contreras-Donello, running for Maryland House of Delegates District 14; Allison Eriksen, running for Montgomery County Council District 3; and Tracy Starr, running for US House of Representatives District 5. Together they share their stories of humble beginnings, careers defined by public service, and the moment they decided that the best way to keep serving was to change the system from the inside. From economic development and renewable energy to food security and human rights, these women are bringing the skills that USAID built — and the communities that shaped them — directly to the ballot box. If you believe that government should be representative of the people it serves, this episode is for you. Maryland early voting runs June 11th through 18th. Primary Election Day is June 23rd. This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. Interested in learning more about these candidates? Check them out below! Alicia Contreras-Donello - Maryland House of Delegates District 14 📸 Instagram/TikTok: @aliciaformaryland 👍 Facebook/LinkedIn: Alicia for Maryland 🌐 Website: aliciacontrerasdonello.com [https://www.aliciacontrerasdonello.com] Allison Eriksen - Montgomery County Council District 3 📸 Instagram: @allisonformoco 🌐 Website: allisonformoco.com [https://www.allisonformoco.com] Tracy Starr - Maryland’s 5th District 📸 Instagram: @tracyforcongress26 🌐 Website: friendsoftracy.com [http://www.friendsoftracy.com] Stay connected with Global Development Interrupted Apple Podcasts [https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/global-development-interrupted-podcast/id1839697079] | Spotify [https://open.spotify.com/show/55VYM3VOZk0Mv5pyqgpOGw?si=048110484f0143c9] | Youtube [https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCgnwEftxGpz2Cxd0w0u207A] Instagram: @globaldevinterrupted [https://www.instagram.com/globaldevinterrupted] | Facebook: Global Development Interrupted [https://www.facebook.com/GlobalDevelopmentInterrupted] This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe [https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

From Learning to Leadership: What USAID Made Possible

A career spent investing in global education didn’t just build schools. It built futures. In this episode, former USAID Foreign Service Officer and Education Specialist Siena Fleischer shares what it takes to create opportunity through education: from teaching children to read, preparing youth for the workforce, and building global research partnerships. But this isn’t just about what worked. It’s about what’s now at risk. Siena was days away from boarding a plane to lead a flagship youth leadership program when everything stopped. With the dismantling of USAID, entire education systems are losing support. Siena explains what “learning loss” really means: not just missed school days, but lost generations, stalled economies, and fewer leaders equipped to shape the future. Education isn’t optional. It never was. And right now, it’s disappearing. Interested in learning more? Resources Siena Recommends * The Science of Reading [https://www.pbs.org/newshour/education/why-more-u-s-schools-are-embracing-a-new-science-of-reading] * Balanced vs. Structured Literacy [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9lIiOs2l0U] * Phonics vs. Whole Language [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=asKhSZiJN7o] * Dyslexia and The Reading Wars [https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2025/12/29/dyslexia-and-the-reading-wars?fbclid=IwY2xjawPJBJVleHRuA2FlbQIxMABicmlkETFSY3RBb3pwV2VtOHM3RXVUc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHu0rX-ACywb-nAwwkKUQQp1Pt7zIDB7hlJQKKqj70NpVJ1URzRv5mo1FRJDE_aem_IpDnxSjexJ-oElhh-2v2Ew] * Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education [https://www.brookings.edu/projects/brookings-global-task-force-on-ai-in-education/] * Educating Kids in the Age of [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HQQtaWgIQmE] AI Making People Visible This space exists to make room for more voices and perspectives from people who worked in global development, and to show why that work mattered in the United States and around the world. Help us keep telling these stories. Your support makes Global Development Interrupted possible. Stay connected with Global Development Interrupted Instagram: @globaldevinterrupted | Facebook: Global Development Interrupted This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe [https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Unleashed: Reimagining Global Conservation After the USAID Shutdown

What do malaria rates, indigenous forests in Peru, and elephant tusk trafficking have in common? They’re all part of what USAID’s conservation work actually looked like. And what we’ve lost. Cynthia Gill spent 32 years building USAID’s conservation programming. Weeks watching it dismantled. And then the question: now what? The former Director for USAID's Center for Natural Environment joins Leah to talk about the shutdown, what was lost, and why she's just getting started through the Reimagining Global Conservation Initiative, a bipartisan playbook that reimagines how the US government contributes to global conservation, strengthening international stability and security while honoring nature as an American core value. To learn more about the Reimagining Global Conservation Initiative and join the coalition, visit their website [https://reimaginingconservation.com/] and add your name to the mailing list [https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOdHdyA-0E3XaUIZKQ7VKbilElfsfvb1NV0JjnXvr7CZarOw/viewform]. If you’d like to support the work, you can contribute here [https://givebutter.com/AjRL9e]. To see a summary of the conservation and development legacy of USAID, see the Guardian’s [https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/mar/16/conservation-trump-cuts-natural-world-usaid-funding-biodiversity-aoe] coverage or read more deeply on Biographic [https://www.biographic.com/the-future-of-conservation-without-us-aid/]. To reach Cynthia directly, email her at cynthia@focuscoaching.net [cynthia@focuscoaching.net]. Making People Visible This space exists to make room for more voices and perspectives from people who worked in global development, and to show why that work mattered in the United States and around the world. Help us keep telling these stories. Your support makes Global Development Interrupted possible. Stay connected with Global Development Interrupted Instagram: @globaldevinterrupted | Facebook: Global Development Interrupted This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe [https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Bearing Witness

What does it feel like to edit the word "equality" out of a US government document? To watch global development programs you believed in disappear overnight? Kelli Rogers knows. A global development journalist who moved from the newsroom to the State Department and back again, she's now leading the Aid Report at DevEx — documenting the real human cost of the foreign assistance cuts and the dismantling of USAID, one story at a time. We talk about what journalism looks like right now, the people behind the numbers, what gives her hope, and yes, even Bad Bunny. Listen to the Episode & Read the Aid Report: www.theaidreport.us [https://www.theaidreport.us/] Making People Visible This space exists to make room for more voices and perspectives from people who worked in global development, and to show why that work mattered in the United States and around the world. Help us keep telling these stories. Your support makes Global Development Interrupted possible. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe [https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]

Forced Into Hope

She was a new mom, weeks postpartum, when she got fired. No warning. No plan. Just a career she’d spent 18 years building — gone. Kathleen Borgueta wasn’t supposed to become a founder. She was supposed to go back to work at USAID, where she’d overseen global health programs across 15 countries in East and Central Africa, managed COVID vaccine rollouts, and built cold chain infrastructure in Somalia. She had a plan for what kind of working mother she was going to be. Then the dismantling started. In this episode, Kathleen joins host Leah Petit to talk about what it really feels like to be fired, publicly called a villain, and left to rebuild your identity — while keeping a newborn alive. She also talks about what she built from the rubble: Pivoting Parents [http://Pivotingparents.com], a 1,200-member global community for laid-off parents refusing to disappear quietly. This is a conversation about agency — in foreign aid, in motherhood, and in deciding what you do when the thing you built your life around is taken from you. “There are a lot of days that hope feels false. But having a child and being invested in my community and invested in the global community forces me to have hope for the future.” Follow Kathleen: LinkedIn [https://www.linkedin.com/in/kathleenborgueta/], Instagram [https://www.instagram.com/pivotingparents?igsh=MXR1MXVqN2V2NmZtNA==], and www.pivotingparents.com [http://Pivotingparents.com] Making People Visible This space exists to make room for more voices and perspectives from people who worked in global development, and to show why that work mattered in the United States and around the world. Help us keep telling these stories. Your support makes Global Development Interrupted possible. This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe [https://globaldevinterrupted.substack.com/subscribe?utm_medium=podcast&utm_campaign=CTA_2]