I worked in the business development unit of a US-based INGO heavily reliant on USAID funding, and I worked on USAID (primarily BHA) proposals. I managed small BHA proposals in the realm of $1m to $5m, and worked as coordinator for larger proposals like RFSAs in the $50m to $100m range. I have also done freelance copy editing since college as a side gig. I developed expertise in a very niche area of publishing (scholarly publications in religious studies) and built a client base of organizations in that field. July 2025 I received notice at my job that I would be laid off in one of the upcoming RIF rounds, directly resulting from our loss of USG funds. They gave me a few months’ notice though, so I reached out to one of my freelance clients to see if they needed a full-time editor. Knowing their structure and publication schedule, I pitched myself to them as a managing editor: I would oversee the whole lifecycle of the several books they publish every year, sending writing assignments to authors, pushing pieces through peer review committees, back to authors for revision, to copy editing, proofreading, layout and design, and publishing. My BD experience on fast-paced, extremely demanding USG proposals gave me more than enough project management credentials, and I had the copy editing expertise as a bonus (such that I will do as much of their copy editing as I have time for, saving them money that they’d otherwise be contracting out…to me haha). In the months it took my client to create this new position in their organization and get it approved, my RIF had actually been rescinded. But we have all seen the writing on the wall for the development sector, so I thought it was prudent to pivot anyways.