Rwaida is a strategic and creative advisor working at the intersection of climate, culture, and advocacy. Her work brings together storytelling, policy, and systems thinking to help shape more just and effective approaches to climate finance, energy access, and community-centered development. She has previously served as a senior consultant with the World Bank Group, supporting climate finance, energy access and just transition efforts focused on women and displaced communities. Earlier in her career, she led strategic communications for President Barack Obama’s Power Africa initiative, where her work helped drive policy change, build public–private partnerships, and secure billions in funding for energy infrastructure across sub-Saharan Africa, where she held multiple roles at USAID and the U.S. Department of State as a presidential appointee.
Raised in Los Angeles between the Mojave Desert, the San Gabriel Mountains, and the Pacific Ocean, and born on the Red Sea to Egyptian parents, Rwaida’s work is rooted in a lifelong relationship with land and water. She is committed to telling stories that connect people, environments, and systems in service of a more just future.