Elizabeth Defreest, a Waitsfield and Warren native, graduated from Harwood Union in 2011. In 2010, she participated in Harwood Union’s Rwanda cultural exchange and found herself picking coffee cherries with fellow students and female survivors of the genocide.
That coffee, grown by small farmers supported by USAID eventually made its way to what was then Green Mountain Coffee Roasters and that experience left DeFreest with a passion for connecting farmers to global supply chains.
“Fast forward 15 years later, until being unexpectedly let go on Sunday, February 23, I proudly worked for the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). As the world’s premier development organization promoting democratic values and a free, prosperous world through disaster response, the agency employs over 10,000 people, many living in war torn and under-resourced countries, to promote global security, food assistance, isolate disease outbreaks, and support economic growth and governance, DeFreest said.
Unlike those working in disaster response, DeFreest’s work was proactive, working to develop partnerships with global companies to work with developing companies advancing value-driven sourcing, human rights, smallholder farmer welfare, job creation, alternatives to migration, healthy environments, sustainable packaging, and American forward policy across over 35 countries, she noted.
“My role is basically to create jobs and opportunities in communities around the world who we want to develop relationships with,” she added.
DeFreest said that at its heart, USAID work is about making the U.S. safer through national security and having allies on the ground.
“That’s making America safer and stronger and more prosperous which is what Trump said programs needed to be to avoid cuts,” DeFreest pointed out.
DeFreest said that USAID contracts and grants contributed over $182 million to Vermont’s economy. Much of USAID’s work is conducted through American contractors like Project Harmony in Waitsfield, Resonance and TetraTech ARD in Burlington, the Himalayan Cataract Project in Waterbury, and World Learning in Brattleboro.
USAID’s work directly impacts Vermont businesses in other ways including via public-private partnerships that drive growth in emerging markets. She cited Big Tree Farms, a Vermont-based company that partnered with USAID to source organic coconut and cacao from Indonesia, providing low-income farmers with increased livelihoods.
“Through this support, Big Tree Farms scaled operations, improved production processes, and trained farmers in sustainable practices. In partnership with Keurig Dr. Pepper (formerly Green Mountain Coffee Roasters), USAID has worked in over 15 countries including Rwanda, Guatemala, Colombia, Indonesia, and Uganda, to strengthen coffee supply chains, boost farmer incomes, and build climate resilience,” DeFreest reported.
She said that the demonization of federal workers is undermining USAID’s work abroad and at home.
“By Elon Musk putting USAID ‘through a woodchipper,’ we are eroding our global reputation, deep reach into remote corners of the world, and reputation as an ally,” she said.
Political polarization is taking a toll on Americans, she said, especially government employees. Russell Vought, a key Trump advisor, has openly sought to put career civil servants ‘in trauma.’
“The hostility being projected doesn’t just affect government workers, it threatens programs that touch our day-to-day lives and national security. At agencies like USAID, these efforts strengthen supply chains, support agricultural research, and open markets, directly benefiting Vermont’s farmers and businesses,” she added.
Ultimately, she said, what is happening isn’t just about foreign aid dollars.
“It’s about standing up for a functioning government with checks and balances. It’s about ensuring civil servants are available to keep your data safe, food edible, children educated, borders secure, disasters responded to, flights landed, national forests clean and air unpolluted. These federal employees, about 16% of whom reside in Vermont, ensure American farmers, employees, and businesses can compete on a fair playing global field. How we engage with the world and each other reflects who we are,” she pointed out.
DeFreest and her husband Tim, a federal servant in the office of personnel management for 16 years, were both let go over the weekend.
