Elevator Maria Quiñones Named a 2019 Women’s Energy Summit Rising Star
We have some exciting news: our very own Maria Quiñones is making HERstory!
Maria was recognized as this year’s Women’s Energy Summit Rising Star. “It’s inspiring to meet women leaders, especially women of color, who bring unique perspectives and experience to the male-dominated energy and environmental industries,” Maria said. Since its inception, the Women’s Energy Summit has served as a platform for senior women leaders to discuss pertinent energy issues, including how to “move the needle forward” and advance women in the industry. The Summit is an exclusive event for bright, energetic, trailblazing women from across the country.
The Summit featured a variety of speakers, including YWCA Metro Chicago’s CEO Dorri McWhorter, who kicked off the event by speaking about the importance of being authentic, something Maria strongly values. “Hearing Dorri’s and others’ stories and ways they’ve excelled by being their authentic selves in their careers is impressive and encouraging,” she said.
Maria has a technical background (she’s an engineer) and a knack for project management, and is a team leader and an advocate for clean energy. At Elevate Energy, she helps building owners and managers find solutions to operate and maintain their properties efficiently. One of the ways she does this is by managing Elevate Energy’s benchmarking services, where she tracks buildings’ performance and develops strategies to improve them.
“I’m from a predominantly Mexican immigrant community on Chicago’s west side, called La Villita, and experienced first-hand the disproportionate effects that the climate crisis has on people of color. At Elevate Energy, I have the privilege of engaging communities like mine by helping them save money, energy, and water to ultimately preserve healthy, affordable, and resilient housing. I’m proud to fight the climate crisis one building at a time and honored to be recognized for it.”
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