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

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

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.