Aqsa Ahsan
Fundraising Director & Vice President
Aqsa Ahsan is the Vice President and Financing Director of Syed Pillar, supporting the President and handling the financing and budgeting structure of the organization.
While she has experience with community outreach and giving back, this is her first position as a key participant in a non-profit organization. She has interned with NumFOCUS, a 501c(3) dedicated to ensuring participants of open-source code are funded for their efforts, and volunteers regularly at Islamic centers and food coalitions in her area. Aqsa is passionate about participating in events to aid her local community and making a change at a grassroots level.
Her time with Syed Pillar has taught her the ins-and-outs of starting a charitable organization, the level of detail and commitment required to build something from the ground up.
When she is not working on the non-profit, Aqsa works for EDP Renewables, working on building large-scale solar and wind farms. She studied at the University of Texas at Austin. She currently resides in Chicago, IL, and loves to spend her free time traveling, exploring the city, and on a lazier day cooking a nice meal and reading a good book.
Aqsa's advice to anyone who is interested in joining or supporting Syed Pillar?
“Take small steps, but be consistent. The smaller efforts that are done regularly can make a bigger impact than a grand gesture here or there. And be patient with yourself! We're all on a learning curve here.”