Director of Innovation, City of Long Beach

As director of innovation for Mayor Robert Garcia of Long Beach, California, Vargas is charged with promoting policies that utilize data-driven decision making for municipal leaders. Previously, she served as a presidential appointee in the Obama Administration at the Department of Defense. She was a special assistant in the Office of the Under Secretary of Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics, where she focused on the rapid acquisition of defense capabilities. Earlier, she worked as a legislative assistant for Congresswoman Grace F. Napolitano in Washington, DC, focusing on immigration and homeland security policy. Vargas holds a master's in public policy from the University of California, Berkeley, and a bachelor of arts degree from Whittier College.