After DOGE, a life upended

Tanna Price helped governments around the world build their economies and root out corruption. News of USAID cuts reached her in Sri Lanka. Almost a year later, Price and thousands of other professionals like her look toward an uncertain future.

Photographs by Lucian Perkins

Story by Joanne Levine

Virginia Center for Investigative Journalism at WHRO

Tanna Price’s American Dream has all but vanished after losing her job in the Department of Government Efficiency cuts this year. For more than 25 years, she traveled the globe, advising governments on anti-corruption measures and economic development. And then, in an instant, it was gone. With no job, she struggles to support her two children, Alistair, 19, and Zara,16, and her 80-year-old mother, Sherrye Price. Her sister, Terrelita, and three dogs are also part of the family.

For more than 25 years, Tanna Price traveled the globe advising foreign governments as a subcontractor for USAID. In January, Price, a 57-year-old economic advisor, was helping a new Sri Lankan government draft anti-corruption measures when she learned that the Trump administration was slashing USAID funding.

Some of her colleagues didn’t think this would end their careers in international development, Price said. “But I was pretty cynical immediately,” she said. “I remember we were talking about, well, maybe we should just stay in Sri Lanka because we won't have an income, and it's so much cheaper to live here.”

On January 29, she received an email informing her that her services would “pause” – effectively ending her job.

Price keeps some of her world treasures in her dining room--a reminder of a world lost since being DOGE’d.

USAID Stopwork, a website tracking the economic impact of the USAID funding cuts, estimated that 20,490 American jobs have been lost as of September. This number does not include consultants like Price.

An analysis in The Lancet estimated that USAID assistance—aimed at combating diseases such as HIV, tuberculosis, malaria, and polio, reducing maternal and child deaths, and fighting malnutrition — saved 92 million lives over two decades.

Price prepares the house for Thanksgiving and Christmas.

Price can't remember exactly where these cards came from, but one afternoon, they became a source of reflection as she sat with them in her living room.

Price grew up in a working-class Texas family, but earned degrees from the University of Texas and Johns Hopkins. An occasional y’all still slips out in conversation. She spent decades climbing the ranks of USAID contracting firms.

Being fired – or “DOGE’d” - upended the already precarious stability of Price’s family. Price, a divorced mother of two teenagers, shares her home in Northern Virginia with her sister, Terrelita, and her mother, Sherrye.

Price, her family, and her daughter’s friend spend an evening watching a Disney movie. Left to right: Daughter Zara Price, Ella Sitz, 16, Tanna, son Alistar Price, and mother Sherrye Price.

After Sherrye is settled in her chair, Tanna Price and Alistair prepare to take two of their three dogs for a walk.

Price applied for jobs and found herself competing with thousands of other newly unemployed government workers. “Work is impossible to come by, “ she said.

She drained her savings. In April, her bank account got down to $3,000 —nowhere near enough to cover rent, much less the $1,500 copay on a surgery that ultimately cost her another $7,500.

This summer, she broke down and filed for unemployment benefits: $388 a week.

Price checks in with Sherrye, who sometimes spends the morning in bed.

Price is proud of her son, Alistair, and Zara (behind him) as they finish up their homework.

Price’s mother likes to have dinner in her favorite chair, as the rest of the family eats in the dining room.

Price and her family have also struggled with health problems.

Her 19-year-old son, Alistair, was diagnosed with autism in March. “I've been trying to figure out the support services that he needs in order to be successful,” she said.

Price’s 80-year-old mother, Sherrye, has dementia and needs constant care. A few years ago, Price moved her mother from Texas to an assisted living facility a few miles away. In June, Price moved Sherrye to her home, saving money and providing family care.

Finding a job in the DMV is tough these days. Virginia’s unemployment rate is at 3.9%, but is rising fastest in Northern Virginia, where federal jobs have been concentrated. Unemployment is projected to rise to 5.0% with virtually no job growth expected in 2026 and very little in 2027, according to an economic forecast from the Weldon Cooper Center for Public Service at the University of Virginia.

“The urgency is taking care of my family. So I’m slowly figuring out what I need to do. If that means unemployment, or Medicaid—if it still exists—then that’s what I’ll do.”

Some former colleagues are now on SNAP. Price smiled and said, “I’m not going to be a bag lady.”

But the fear behind the joke is real.

Tanna Price hugs two of her family’s three dogs – Pepper, left, and Zeus, right – as she prepares for the Christmas holidays.

Despite the upheaval, Price refuses to let despair dominate her home. This Christmas, she insists, will still feel like Christmas. She’s baking cookies. There will be presents.

“The despair comes from making sure my family is okay,” she said. “And they are… yeah, they’re thriving.”

What comes next professionally is unclear.

“I miss the excitement of going to another country, getting to work with other cultures, helping people achieve their goals,” she said. “There’s a part of me that’s like, Wow. I can’t believe that career is over.”

The Price’s Christmas tree has many ornaments from her travels, including this reminder of how proud she was to work in support of USAID and the federal government.