Chris Castro is the Chief of Staff for Office of State and Community Energy Programs at the U.S. Department of Energy. Castro previously served as the Senior Advisor to Mayor Buddy Dyer and Director of Sustainability & Resilience at the City of Orlando, Florida. Castro is well known for his entrepreneurial efforts prior to coming to the City, including being the Co-founder and President of several companies and organizations, including the global sustainability nonprofit, IDEAS For Us, a clean energy consulting firm, Citizen Energy, and a renowned urban farming social enterprise, Fleet Farming. In 2020, Chris also joined partners as a Founding Director to launch Climate First Bank, the first B-Corp community bank in Florida working to advance ESG and local investing for sustainability and decarbonization solutions. Originally from Miami, Florida, Castro holds a B.S. in Environmental Science and Policy from the University of Central Florida.