Maria T. Vargas is a Senior Program Advisor and the Director of Better Buildings Initiative at the US Department of Energy. Through Better Buildings, including the recently launched Better Climate Challenge, DOE works with hundreds of leaders in the public and private sectors to make U.S. buildings, homes, and manufacturing facilities  more efficient and to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions across their portfolios. Hundreds of chief executive officers, university presidents, and state and local leaders are now partners with DOE and sharing innovative solutions and strategies as models for others to follow. Ms. Vargas also serves as the Lead DOE Ambassador for the US C3E Initiative, designed to accelerate and highlight women’s leadership in clean energy.   Prior to her work at DOE, Ms. Vargas was the Brand Manager for the ENERGY STAR program for almost 20 years while at the US Environmental Protection Agency and has been involved in policy work on the issues of ozone depletion, global climate change, and related environmental and energy issues since 1985. Ms. Vargas was inducted in the Energy Efficiency Hall of Fame in 2014.