Aqsa Mahmud is a first-generation Pakistani American, raised on the East Coast and with a deep connection to the American South. She prioritizes community – building and proactively engages in the social dynamics of her environments, which have included western Himalayan communities, Mid-Atlantic activist groups and mainland communities of China. Aqsa graduated from the University of Georgia Honors Program (B.A., Political Science; B.S., Psychology) and the University of Michigan Law School, after which she developed a professional practice that merged climate priorities and international finance. Community is an anchoring point in Aqsa’s speaking engagements, and her personal experiences provide vivid imagery that connects stories to the technical sectors of climate finance and development. Aqsa is currently a legal counsel for an international development bank focusing on climate financing in the Global South. She lives in Beijing, China.