Click here for full display: https://indianacouncilonworldaffairs.wildapricot.org/event-6406907
The Indiana Council on World Affairs presents
"US Foreign Aid: Update on Humanitarian Funding" The USAID humanitarian program, formed in 1961, was shut down July 1, 2025.
Because of the urgency of the US' stance on foreign aid, this program offers an up-date of our earlier program.
The panel of experts who presented on September 10th, 2025, have offered to revisit this topic with observations and insights on current conditions.
This event is offered via Zoom at no charge. Voluntary donations are welcomed. On-line registration is required.
PROGRAM PANEL OF EXPERTS:
Moderator and ICWA Board member: Dr. Betty Tonsing, Fulbright Scholar, Senior Fulbright Specialist, Contractor for USAID
Panelist: Michelle Dworkin, Foreign Service Officer for United States Agency for International Development
Panelist and ICWA Board Member: Dr. Ken Holland, Chief of Party and Contractor for USAID, DOD, NATO, World Bank and US State
Panelist: Dr. Kevin T McNamara, Professor of Regional Economics, Emeritus Purdue University.
PROGRAM DESCRIPTION:
Earlier this year, the United States severely cut back on decades of US foreign assistance through programs such as the United States Agency for International Development which was the largest foreign aid, disaster relief and economic development agency in the world.
The panel will discuss the impact of the loss of foreign aid and assistance on everything from the tragic humanitarian results to what this means regarding this loss of soft power for the US. We’ve seen the stories of those who’ve lost food and medical aid via this unnecessary action, that may have not saved any money in the federal government. Too many Americans have never understood the good this foreign aid has on America's national security.
Just some examples - humanitarian aid from health programs via the National Institute on Health and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have also been halted as have several other US foreign assistance agencies. The rapid dismantling USAID — 83% of its programs and laying off over 90% of its staff — has marked only the beginning of a dramatic retreat from America’s soft power toolkit.
Over six decades, USAID served as the civilian face of U.S. global leadership, delivering development, humanitarian assistance, and governance support in more than 100 countries. impact of the loss of foreign aid and assistance on everything from the tragic humanitarian results to what this means regarding this loss of soft power for the US. We’ve seen the stories of those who’ve lost food and medical aid via this unnecessary action (that saved NO money in the federal government) but too many Americans never understood the good this aid had on Americas national security. Consequences include:
● erosion of Global goodwill;
● a strategic vacuum that will no doubt be filled by rival countries such as China;
● as food rots and medicines expire, humanitarian and security repercussions emerge while countries around the world wonder if they can count on the United States again; and
● economic domestic consequences that have already been deeply felt by American farmers.
PANELISTS
Panelist: Michelle Dworkin, United States Agency for International Development
About Michelle Dworkin
Michelle Dworkin proudly served as a Foreign Service Officer with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) for 17 years. Most recently, as Director of the Program Office in USAID/Colombia, she managed budget planning and reporting for a $1.2 billion portfolio of approximately 50 projects focused on peace building, counter-narcotics, economic growth, biodiversity conservation, and support for Venezuelan migrants.
Previously, as the Director of the Program Office in USAID/Honduras, she led the Mission’s shift to align programming with the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Migration in Central America. Prior to her work in Honduras, Ms. Dworkin was a Congressional Liaison Officer with the Bureau for Legislative and Public Affairs in USAID/Washington and participated in a Brookings Institution fellowship in Congress. Her other previous assignments include Deputy Director of the Program Office in USAID/Guatemala, Program Officer for USAID/Afghanistan’s Western Regional Platform in Herat, and Program Officer in USAID/Egypt.
Prior to joining USAID, Ms. Dworkin worked on USAID-funded education and training programs, primarily for students from the West Bank and Gaza. Ms. Dworkin holds a master’s degree in Sustainable International Development from the Heller School of Social Policy and Management at Brandeis University and a bachelor’s degree in International Relations and Anthropology from Tufts University. She is bilingual in English and Spanish, and has knowledge of French, Arabic, and Hebrew.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Panelist: Kevin T McNamara, Professor of Regional Economics, Emeritus Purdue University
About Kevin T McNamara
Dr. McNamara is a Professor Emeritus at Purdue University. He also held faculty positions at Virginia State University, Virginia Tech, University of Georgia, and Christian Albrecht University of Kiel, Germany. Dr. McNamara’s research focuses on growth in the manufacturing sector, farm-off-farm linkages, the food supply chain, and individual and institutional capacity building. Dr. McNamara has worked internationally in Africa, Asia, Europe and South America. He speaks Dari.
Dr. McNamara managed Purdue University’s development efforts in Afghanistan, securing funding from USAID, USDA, USDS, USDC, USDD and others. He was Chief of Party for Purdue’s first major project in Afghanistan and managed all of Purdue’s 23 funded Afghanistan projects. Purdue’s efforts focused on public sector individual and institutional capacity building to support the food system, crop storage, and public health.
Purdue’s Afghanistan higher education efforts provided in-service and degree education opportunities for Afghan faculty members in Afghanistan, the US and India. Purdue renovated and equipped academic facilities. Purdue faculty worked with Afghan faculty to up-date curriculum with industry-based validation, establish industry advisory boards, initiate internship systems, modernize instructional methods, and develop student research program. Purdue efforts developed the first agribusiness and food technology departments at 6 Afghan universities. Purdue also developed the first university teaching wet labs in Afghanistan and worked with faculty members to integrate them into the curriculum.
Dr. McNamara was awarded an Alexander von Humbolt Senior Research Fellowship, a Hudson Institute Fellowship, An Indiana Economic Development Council Fellowship, the Purdue College of Agriculture Team Award, and the USDA Secretary’s Honor Award for Exceptional Service. His work in Afghanistan was recognized by Afghanistan’s President, Ministers of Higher Education, Agriculture and Public Health, and by Presidents of Balkh, Herat, Khost, Kandahar, Kunduz, and Nangarhar Universities.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Panelist: Kenneth Holland, President Emeritus of the American University of Afghanistan
About Kenneth Holland
Professor Kenneth Holland, President Emeritus of the American University of Afghanistan has served as the university’s president for several years, and Adjunct Professor of Political Science at the University of Utah. He holds a PhD in Political Science, University of Chicago and a Master’s Degree in Government, University of Virginia.
Dr. Holland specializes in strengthening higher education in developing countries in Asia, establishing the rule of law in conflict-affected countries, and analyzing the legal foundations of the global trading system. He was a consultant to the Peoples Republic of China in its successful bid to join the World Trade Organization. In addition to leading higher education projects in Afghanistan, Mongolia, Myanmar, Iraq and Cambodia, Dr. Holland also served in Pakistan as Chief of Party for USAID’s Higher Education System Strengthening Activity.
Dr. Holland was a senior civilian advisor to the Commander of NATO forces in Afghanistan on building the rule of law for five years and he managed multiple higher education development projects in Afghanistan from 2006 to 2019 for the World Bank, USAID and the Department of State. He has served as Professor of Law and Dean at O. P. Jindal Global University in India. His recent Fulbright Specialist Grant is to assist the Institute for Advanced International Studies in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, to improve its curriculum in American Studies.
As Dean for International Programs at Ball State University, he expanded the international student population and obtained $12 million in grants to the university from USAID, the State Department, the World Bank, NATO, the Asian Development Bank and the Eurasia Foundation. Dr. Holland also served as Associate Provost for International Programs at Kansas State University. In 2023 he received the Institute of International Education's Centennial Medal for Contribution to the Field of International Education.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Moderator: Dr. Betty Tonsing. Fulbright Scholar, Senior Fulbright Specialist and USAID Contractor
About Betty K. Tonsing
Dr. Betty Tonsing’s career has spanned four continents and fourteen countries, working with the United Nations, USAID, the State Department, private industry, and nonprofits. She has also been awarded three Fulbright scholarships with the US State Department and is an Indiana Humanities Scholar. She has authored several books and over thirty articles in the US and international press. Dr. Tonsing has been a keynote speaker and panelist at international conferences on global educational partnerships, women’s issues, and patient safety and advocacy. She is Founder and President, of Global Visits, Inc., and also serves on the Indiana Council on World Affairs Board of Directors.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
MORE INFORMATION: 317-704-4689 or info@IndianaWorld.org
ICWA UP-COMING EVENTS: https://indianacouncilonworldaffairs.wildapricot.org/events
ICWA Great Decisions 8-Week Series: https://indianacouncilonworldaffairs.wildapricot.org/event-6127229
MEMBERSHIP IN THE INDIANA COUNCIL ON WORLD AFFAIRS IS OPEN: Join | ICWA (indianaworld.org)
ENCOURAGE WORLD AFFAIRS EDUCATION: Indiana Council on World Affairs - Donate
IndianaWorld.org
01-11-26 JIH