This holiday season, we invite you to sit back and enjoy a stimulating two-part series addressing today’s leading development issues: from climate change and capacity building to education and health and nutrition. Our conversations will engage experts, working on the ground, from Counterpart International, an international nonprofit that’s been working for 50 years – and in more than 65 countries – to help people build better lives and more durable futures. In our first episode, you’ll meet Maria Esther Bucaro, Counterpart’s Country Director for Guatemala, and Paul Guggenheim, Country Representative for the Dominican Republic. In their lively conversation, Maria and Paul share insights into some of the challenges facing local communities in the regions where they live and work. Maria explains an innovative strategy for equipping farmers in rural Guatemala to overcome malnutrition and earn sustainable incomes. Paul speaks about efforts in the DR to improve climate resiliency, including a recent national action plan drafted in collaboration with the DR’s Climate Council and presented last week at the COP21. Next up, remember to check back for our follow-up episode with Counterpart’s Bedilu Shegen, Steve Wisman and Carolyn Tanner representing Malawi, Papua New Guinea and Timor-Leste respectively. In the meantime, dive into our archives for our chat in May with Joan Parker, Counterpart’s President and CEO (Episode #84).