Introducing Humans of Development: Kimberly Dixon

Highlighting the real people and measurable impact in foreign assistance programming

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What project are you proudest to have worked on?

I am Kimberly Dixon. I am especially proud to have worked on a tuberculosis (TB) initiative focused on partnering with local governments in high-burden countries. Rather than imposing a one-size-fits-all solution, the project empowered local health experts to identify what they needed to improve TB outcomes in their own contexts.

Once priorities were identified, the project provided grants to fund those specific needs—whether it was a radio campaign to raise awareness about TB treatment, portable X-ray machines to reach rural areas, or community outreach by medical teams.

The goal was to help fill critical funding gaps in national health budgets and reduce TB rates at the country level. What made this project particularly meaningful was facilitating those local-level conversations and witnessing solutions emerge organically from the communities most affected.

It wasn’t about dictating interventions—it was about trusting local expertise to tackle local challenges that have global health implications.

What is an experience that deeply shaped your approach to development work?

My Peace Corps experience in Niger was the true beginning of my career—and the start of some lifelong friendships. I was placed in a remote village of about 200 people where only one person had ever attended school and could read.

The families were subsistence farmers living on the edge of the Sahara, facing the challenges of daily survival. And yet, they were endlessly generous, always ready to help out the slightly bewildered new girl who had just joined their community.

Living there taught me one of the most important lessons of my career: start by listening. Any initiative should begin with the community defining their own needs and priorities—not with our assumptions or preconceived solutions.

Years later, I was walking down a hallway in Geneva when I locked eyes with someone who looked familiar. She was looking at me with the same puzzled recognition. I hesitantly asked, “Are you from Guinea?” She replied, “No, I’m from Niger.”

At that moment, it clicked. I blurted out, “Hadiza!” She had been the receptionist at the Peace Corps office in Niamey and was now working with the World Health Organization in Geneva. Small, small world.

What is one misconception that people have about your work in compliance?

A common misconception is that I always want to say "no" to a program. For me, compliance is about using the rules from the donor, regulations, or even laws to help a project reach the set objectives. There is ALWAYS a way forward—we just have to find it within the rules.

What does “compliance” mean? How do you keep humanity at the center of development systems?

There’s a great quote often used in compliance circles: “We’re the team of know, not the team of no.” That captures the spirit I bring to compliance work. While there are certainly times when donor regulations limit what we can do—or how we can do it—our job isn’t just to enforce the rules.

It’s to partner with program teams to find solutions, navigate constraints, and still reach the project’s objectives. I never want to say “no” without first having a conversation about how we can get it done. But most importantly, I care deeply about getting things done and making a positive impact.

What do you think about the myth that the agency was riddled with corruption?

It’s been incredibly frustrating to see media reports alleging “fraud, waste, and abuse” in international development, without providing data or specific examples. Fraud exists in every industry and sector, but what’s missing from the current narrative is an understanding of the multiple layers of oversight built into US government-funded programs.

Most USAID projects are awarded through a highly competitive and transparent process. Winning an award isn’t easy—organizations undergo rigorous due diligence to ensure they have the financial and operational systems required to manage both funds and project outcomes responsibly. Congress approves every award, and they are publicly available on platforms like usaspending.gov.

Throughout implementation, expenses are reviewed multiple times, regular reports are submitted, and organizations are held accountable. Every organization I’ve worked with had internal audit teams, and we regularly collaborated with the relevant Inspector General offices to flag and address potential issues.

When fraud did occur, it was identified and dealt with swiftly. That’s not a broken system—that’s a system doing what it was designed to do: detect and correct.

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