Mahmoud Khalil (born 1995) is an Algerian citizen of Palestinian descent. He was born and raised in a Palestinian refugee camp in Damascus, Syria after his grandparents were displaced from Tiberia. He is a permanent U.S. resident with a green card. Khalil grew up in Syria and earned his bachelor’s degree in computer science from Lebanese American University, according to his LinkedIn profile. Before enrolling at Columbia, he held multiple roles in international development, including with the United Kingdom’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office.