Born and raised in Bangladesh, Wasfia Nazreen, obtained a university scholarship from Agnes Scott College in Decatur, Georgia. While earning her degree, she was involved in several anti-war movements, most notably, the Tibetan Freedom Movement. Her passion for peace and human rights led Wasfia to Tibet where she embraced the culture and found healing in the mountains. Because of this experience, she decided to climb the seven highest summits on each continent to highlight the strides of Bangladesh as a country and the resiliency and strength of the nation’s women. Four years later, Wasfia became the first Bangladeshi and first Bengali to complete the Seven Summits.

A year after her feat, National Geographic released a documentary about Wasfia’s life and how she’s empowering other young women through mountaineering. She was named by Outside magazine as one of 40 women in the last 40 years who have advanced and challenged the outdoor world through leadership, innovation, and athletic feat, and by Men’s Journal as one of the 25 most adventurous women of the past 25 years. Wasfia is currently the only female to hold the simultaneous titles of National Geographic Explorer and Adventurer. In 2020, she founded Ösel Foundation, an organization that empowers marginalized girls from Bangladesh through the outdoors.