In 2013, Maria Rios was named by Fortune magazine as one of the Most Powerful Women Entrepreneurs in America, and ranked no.7 on the list of top 10 female entrepreneurs nationwide. Rios, whose family immigrated to the U.S. from El Salvador when she was a child, became involved with the waste removal business while attending the University of Houston. Like all successful entrepreneurs, Maria identified a niche that wasn’t being serviced, and took action. Immediately upon graduation, she purchased two trucks and launched Nation Waste.