Ricardo Magallon
- Adjunct Professor
Ricardo Magallon is an adjunct professor at Illinois Institute of Technology’s Stuart School of Business. He was honored as a 2018 GreenBiz (now Trellis) 30 Under 30 while working at San Francisco International Airport for his work on the airport’s Zero Waste initiative and is a 2022 University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy alumni.
From 2020 to 2025, Magallon managed the Air Inspection Division for Cook County’s Department of Environment and Sustainability, where he worked to reduce air pollutants, such as greenhouse gas emission and criteria pollutants, from businesses that require air permits throughout the county. He led a $10 million initiative funded by the American Rescue Plan Act to establish Cook County’s first pollution prevention program for businesses, known as the BRITE Program. He was named a 2025 Crain’s Business Notable in Sustainability for his work at Cook County.
Magallon currently works as the interim director of Innovation DuPage’s Clean Energy Incubator Program, where he focuses on recruiting, advising, and scaling clean energy start-ups and small businesses in Illinois.
Education
M.S. Environmental Management, University of San Francisco
B.S. Biology, B.S. Environmental Science, Loyola University Chicago
Research Interests
Circular economy
Pollution prevention
Industrial ecology
Sustainable business
Greenhouse gas emission reduction
Environmental policy
Industrial decarbonization
Waste diversion from landfill
Evolutionary biology
Professional Affiliations & Memberships
University of Chicago Civic Leadership Academy
Trellis Group 30 Under 30 Alum
The Industrial Water, Waste & Sewage Group
Chicago Sustainability Task Force
Chicago Metropolitan Agency for Planning (CMAP): Comprehensive Climate Action Plan Industry Working Group
Affiliations
