Global Development Interrupted Podcast

The People, the Work, and What Was Lost When America Stepped Back
  • 5.0 (28)
  • Politics
  • Updated Biweekly

Global Development Interrupted creates space for voices, perspectives, and critical reflection on global development. By amplifying the experiences of people who have built their careers in public service and global work, it invites learning, dialogue, and reimagining of what global development is, was, and could be. globaldevinterrupted.substack.com

  1. Jun 4

    We Are the Work

    Keisha Effiom sat at her dining room table in Rwanda, read the email about USAID’s final mission, and started writing. The result is a memoir — and this conversation. Keisha, former USAID Mission Director for Rwanda and Burundi, joins Global Development Interrupted to trace her journey from Howard University graduate to one of USAID’s top leaders and what she chose to do when it all came crashing down. She talks candidly about the human cost of USAID’s closure, why dismissing public servants with “just get over it” is not only wrong but cruel, and how she led her team through crisis without letting her heart go hard. She also shares the story behind her memoir, I Said My Peace With Peace: Inside USAID’s Final Days — a firsthand account of servant leadership when everything is falling apart. Whether you work in global development, care about U.S. foreign policy, or are leading people through uncertainty, this episode is for you. Want to learn more from Keisha and pick up her book, I Said My Piece with Peace? Visit her at keishaeffiom.com Listen, Watch, Follow Listen & Watch on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube Follow on: Instagram: @globaldevinterrupted | Facebook: Global Development Interrupted This Substack is reader-supported. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber. 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

    30 min
  2. From USAID to the Ballot Box

    May 21

    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 Allison Eriksen - Montgomery County Council District 3 📸 Instagram: @allisonformoco 🌐 Website: allisonformoco.com Tracy Starr - Maryland’s 5th District 📸 Instagram: @tracyforcongress26 🌐 Website: friendsoftracy.com Stay connected with Global Development Interrupted Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Youtube 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

    41 min
  3. From Learning to Leadership: What USAID Made Possible

    May 7

    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 * Balanced vs. Structured Literacy * Phonics vs. Whole Language * Dyslexia and The Reading Wars * Brookings Global Task Force on AI in Education * Educating Kids in the Age of 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

    30 min
  4. Unleashed: Reimagining Global Conservation After the USAID Shutdown

    Apr 23

    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 and add your name to the mailing list. If you’d like to support the work, you can contribute here. To see a summary of the conservation and development legacy of USAID, see the Guardian’s coverage or read more deeply on Biographic. To reach Cynthia directly, email her at 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

    34 min
  5. Bearing Witness

    Apr 9

    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 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

    33 min
  6. Forced Into Hope

    Mar 26

    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, 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, Instagram, and www.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

    34 min
  7. Once More Into the Breach

    Mar 12

    Once More Into the Breach

    He was in the room when it happened. Alex Natsios sat next to his father, Andrew Natsios — former USAID Administrator, war veteran, conservative Republican — for four and a half hours as members of Congress stood up one by one and repeated the same false claims about USAID. He watched them do it knowing they were false. He watched Fox News run graphics contradicting his father’s own words while he was still speaking. That’s when Alex stopped holding back. In this episode, Alex joins host Leah Petit to talk about what it felt like to witness the dismantling of USAID from the inside — sitting beside the man who helped build it. He shares how watching his father go “once more into the breach” at 75 years old pushed him to find his own way to fight back, and how the flood of misinformation led him to start Unsung Americans — a podcast dedicated to telling the real stories of aid workers on the ground. This is a conversation about truth-telling, legacy, and what it costs when a country decides to stop believing in its own work. “Our level of influence in the world was far more significant than even those of us who were very plugged in understood. And we’re all going to lose. America’s not gaining — we’re losing.” Find Unsung Americans on YouTube or Linktr.ee 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

    21 min
  8. Food Security Is Global Security

    Feb 26

    Food Security Is Global Security

    What does food security really have to do with global stability and everyday life? In this episode, I’m joined by Marian Ostertag, a former USAID Foreign Service Officer who spent her career working on agriculture and food security. Marian explains why effective development work focuses on long-term systems — food, markets, and institutions — so countries can withstand shocks without constant emergency aid. We talk about how food systems connect far beyond borders, why global supply chains are more fragile than we like to admit, and how agriculture quietly underpins everything from economic resilience to security. Along the way, Marian breaks down why pigs can be a matter of national security, why Paraguay keeps coming up, and what’s lost when long-term development work disappears. This is a grounded, thoughtful conversation about prevention over reaction, systems over short-term fixes, and why food stability matters far more than most of us realize. Making People Visible This space exists to center voices from global development and public service. Your support keeps Global Development Interrupted going and helps ensure these stories are told. 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

    37 min
See All (23)

5
out of 5
28 Ratings

About

Global Development Interrupted creates space for voices, perspectives, and critical reflection on global development. By amplifying the experiences of people who have built their careers in public service and global work, it invites learning, dialogue, and reimagining of what global development is, was, and could be. globaldevinterrupted.substack.com

Information

  • Creator
    The People, the Work, and What Was Lost When America Stepped Back
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    23
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © Petit Media & Consulting LLC
  • Show Website
    Global Development Interrupted Podcast

You Might Also Like