Chris Castro

Biography: Chris is the Senior Advisor to Orlando Mayor Buddy Dyer, Director of Sustainability & Resilience, and 'Future-Ready' steering committee member for the City of Orlando, developing policies & programs to advance the City’s sustainability, climate action, and smart city goals. Chris is best known for his work as the president and founder of IDEAS For Us, a global UN-accredited 501c3 nonprofit working to incubate and fund innovative projects that advance the UN Sustainable Development Goals. In 2012, Chris also started a clean-energy consulting firm called Citizen Energy, and 2013 co-created "Fleet Farming", a renowned urban farming social enterprise that is redefining local food systems by building organic farms on homeowner lawns, schools, and underutilized land throughout neighborhoods and communities. Chris currently sits on nearly a dozen nonprofit and academic boards, including the Florida Solar Energy Center, US Green Building Council of Florida, Project Greenschools, and Goodwill Industries of Central Florida. He has previously held positions with University of Central Florida, Orange County Govt., and the U.S. Department of Energy. Over the years, Chris has been internationally recognized for his efforts; including being named the 2018 Public Official of the Year by Governing, a ‘Champions of Change' by President Barack Obama, the 'Guru of Green' by the Orlando Business Journal, the Grist 50 Fixer Award, Top 30 Under 30 sustainability professionals by GreenBiz, and formal recognition from President Bill Clinton, President Jimmy Carter, and Vice President Al Gore. In December 2018, Chris starred in the National Geographic documentary called "Paris to Pittsburgh". As a thought leader, Chris has spoken at more than 150+ conferences and events, including the United Nations Summits, Vatican Youth Symposium, Smart Cities Connect, NASA Innovation Expo, Sustainatopia, TEDx Orlando, and more.