This week, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will effectively cease to exist with the majority of employees let go and the few remaining contracts shifted over to the U.S. State Department’s management. According to data collected by the organization USAID Stop-Work, USAID-funded programs provided employment for over 200,000 people working in humanitarian assistance and development aid around the world, including people working directly for USAID and those employed by implementing partners funded by USAID.
With the support of The Rockefeller Foundation, in June 2025, SFS launched Pivot with Purpose, an initiative to provide career transition resources to all the affected professionals. The program offers a virtual seminar series, personalized and group career advising and curated resources to help individuals move forward.
Professor Steven Radelet, Donald F. McHenry Chair in Global Human Development, and Carla Koppell, managing director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security, are leading the Pivot with Purpose initiative at Georgetown with the support of the SFS Career Center.
“The shutting down of USAID and the closure of so many foreign assistance programs has been deeply traumatic for tens of thousands of people and has caused widespread suffering in the countries in which these programs operated,” Radelet says. “As a School of Foreign Service in a Jesuit university, SFS has the opportunity and obligation to provide whatever support we can to serve the people in this community. We hope that the Pivot with Purpose initiative provides resources, ideas and connections that will assist people as they move forward in their personal and professional lives.”
Dr. Rajiv Shah, president of The Rockefeller Foundation and former administrator of USAID, joined Radelet and Koppell for the launch of the webinar series on June 18, 2025. Shah began by thanking the over 700 international development professionals who tuned in to the session for their service and dedication.
“Thank you for your service. You have served our country. You have served this world, and you have served countless vulnerable families in so many extraordinary ways,” Shah said.
He highlighted the declining support for foreign assistance around the world, calling the situation “a crisis,” but one that he hoped “can unlock creativity, openness, innovation, new ways of thinking.”
Seminar series
Pivot with Purpose’s seminar series will include workshops led by expert career coaches and advisors on job search skills as well as panel discussions with professionals from new industries.
The virtual series will run from June to September 2025, with sessions on Zoom every Tuesday and Thursday at 12:00 p.m., EDT (note that times and dates may vary). Sessions are free and open to the public and targeted to the international development professional community.
Learn more about upcoming speakers and register for the events on the Pivot with Purpose website.
Career advising and resources
The initiative will also offer individual and group career advising services, which are designed to provide international development professionals with personalized, practical and community-based support. The personalized services will only be available to participants who attend a minimum number of seminar series sessions.
Curated resources like job boards, online courses and helpful organizations can be found on the Pivot with Purpose website. More resources will be added as they become available.
Follow Pivot with Purpose on Linkedin or sign up for their mailing list to stay up to date on their activities.