One Year After the End of US Foreign Funding: What happened and what comes next?
January 23, 2026
6:30 pm - 8:30 pm
118 Elliot
118 Elliot St Brattleboro VT 05301
On Friday, Jan. 23, WWAC revisits this earlier discussion by hosting a panel of former USAID staff and experts in international development. The loss of aid on this scale has had global ramifications: people were stranded on international exchanges, support for basic subsistence of refugees ended, critical humanitarian aid and medical interventions stopped, and thousands of people around the world lost their jobs. Even more alarming, a study published in The Lancet medical journal predicts that the USAID funding cuts will lead to over 14m deaths by 2030, particularly in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Africa.
These executive actions have been a shock to the international development system, and they have impacted organizations, programs, and individuals in our community. The panel of former USAID staff and experts in international development will share the process of the agency’s closure, the impacts across the world, and what new initiatives have arisen to pick up the pieces.
The panel will include:
Michelle Barrett (MI) has led large, high-visibility initiatives in public service and global development across Africa, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, and Asia. Most recently she served as Deputy Regional Director of USAID’s West Africa Regional Office in Accra, Ghana, until she helped close down its operations in August 2025.
Jim Levinson (Marlboro, VT) began a lengthy USAID career in the 1960s in India, served as USAID’s Director of Nutrition and was invited to testify on behalf of USAID before the House of Representatives Hunger Committee. He’s also worked with multiple international agencies in Asia and Africa, and served as Chair of the Independent Review Panel of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition. Jim was a faculty member at MIT and Tufts where he also headed their international food and nutrition centers, and at the Boston University School of Public Health.
Siena Fleischer (Chesterfield, NH) has worked for over 20 years in global education and development, including leading cross-sectoral research initiatives at USAID that most recently engaged a 3,700-member consortium across 86 countries to inform policy and improve research uptake. She has done field work in Macedonia, Nepal, and Guatemala, focusing on ethnic and gender-based violence and the education of indigenous youth.
Merrill Sovner (Brattleboro, VT) is Board Chair of the Windham World Affairs Council, as well as managing a new initiative, the Alternative Resourcing for Change and Solidarity (ARCS) Roundtable, a space for NGO and philanthropy practitioners to explore how human rights and social justice organizations can transition from dependency on international grants to small donations, for-profit income, solidarity economics, and impact investing, giving them for flexible funding to pursue their missions.
The event is free and open to the public with a suggested donation of $10.
NOTE: At 5:30 p.m., before the panel, there will be a social hour with former USAID and State staff, grantees, and contractors. The time is envisioned as a space where those directly affected by these changes can network, problem-solve, and think outside of the box. Refreshments will be served.
