Asha Richards, a dedicated advocate for human development, joined the Mayors Migration Council in March 2024. Motivated by her Jamaican migrant upbringing, she strives to minimize inequality and empower marginalized communities. Currently, Asha serves as an IOM Youth Changemaker and is a former Northeast USA representative and 2024 Chair of the Global Jamaica Diaspora Youth Council (GJDYC), a youth-led initiative established by the Jamaican Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT). In these roles, she has contributed to empowering young Jamaicans in the diaspora (1st to 4th generations) while supporting MFAFT in diaspora engagement.

Prior to joining the Mayors Migration Council, Asha worked with the Inter-American Development Bank as a graduate consultant, the Migration, Remittances and Development Program at the Inter-American Dialogue, and the African Peacekeeping Rapid Response Partnership at the Henry M. Jackson Foundation, a U.S. Department of State initiative. She holds a BA in Political Science and International Studies from Virginia Wesleyan University (2021) and an MPA in Development Practice from Columbia University (2023), where she specialized in International Organization and Latin American Studies.